Love Hina: All Male Dorm Version
by indifferentshadow
Summary: Inspired by Allen Ramsey's Love Hina: All Girls Dorm Edition fanfic - Remembering a promise, Naru decides to go for Tokyo U and is told to go to the Hinata Inn. However, upon arrival, she soon realizes that it is now an all-male dormitory. AU, slight OOC
1. Chapter 1

indifferentshadow

Start date: 7/21/09

End date: TBD

Love Hina: All-Male Dorm Version

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Love Hina_.

---

Author's Notes:

By "little OOC outside of F to M," of course, I mean I'll try (not extremely hard) for very little out-of-characterizing, outside of the female dorm residents simply being male.

I may feel a need (like now) to add **references** from other sources, if I needed them in order to go on with my fanfiction. For instance, I used Wikipedia in order to make sure that I got the right word for Makoto's "shinai."

**Definitions**-

shinai: wooden sword (bamboo, to be specific about material?) used in kendo

All right, that should be it. But, I probably forgot something.

**Update - 8/18/09:** Naru's encounter with Shinobu has been altered, making it seem less forced. Names have been changed for the last two characters with gender-incorrect names (Names still somewhat not-set-in-stone, but may be this way until further notice). And it will be Mitsune, but never Kitsune.

**More References** (I feel that I have to; sorry)-

I used Google to search "japanese names" and the like. I came across and used various links and sites that the Google results offered. I'm not sure if I can use actual website links in fanfics, so I won't really go into that that much. I guess I _probably_ could, since I'm not really promoting these websites or anything, or really doing anything illegal at all, but I'm just being safe, rather than sorry. Yes, all of this looks stupid, and I probably could put these links down. Oh well.

---

Chapter 1: A Hinata Inn Welcome

The sun shined brightly in the dark blue sky, the wispy clouds providing very little cover for the people below on the streets near the Hinata Inn. Believing to have found what she was looking for, a young woman stopped in front of the long reach of steps which led to her perceived destination. Her eyes gazed from the bottom of these steps, all the way to the top, seeing the sky, as she could not see the inn.

_I guess there are a lot of steps to the Hinata Inn,_ the young woman thought, as she started her way up the steps.

A minute later, she reached the top, and finally took in the sight of Hinata Inn for a moment. It seemed quite large, being three stories high, and having a small wooden porch jut out slightly from the second and third stories, directly over the entrance of the inn.

Sliding the doors open, she encountered…no one. She saw the slippers on the floor, where she took off her own shoes. In the lounge area, she could see a staircase leading to the second floor, with some couches and a coffee table nestled against the wall of the staircase, in front of her, about a hundred feet away.

"Hello?" she asked, frowning after realizing how soft her voice sounded. "Hello? Is anybody here? Grandma Hina, it's Naru Narusegawa. Anybody?"

She went forward, looking around the lounge area. Soon she found the manager's room on the second floor, and decided to rest in there, sliding the door open. Walking up to a low table in the middle of one of the rooms inside, Naru dropped her bags, and herself, in front of it. She ran a hand through her long hair and checked her pockets and purse to see that her wallet, and other such items, was safe. After doing so, Naru waited at the table before becoming restless, deciding to leave the room.

_How is there no one here?_ she wondered, as she walked around in the lounge area. Naru looked around, turning her head every so often, until a sign caught her eye.

_Hot springs?_ She thought as she looked at the sign and spa. _I do feel stressed…_

Naru went back to her room and grabbed a towel from one of her luggage bags. She undressed in the dressing room leading to the hot springs, and crept into the warm, steamy waters. She walked to the opposite side of the hot springs entrance, and laid back against the rocks, sinking down until the water reached her neck. She sighed as she put her towel behind her head, on a level surface of the rock walkway, while her head rested on the rock above the edge of the water. Stretching her arms, Naru rested her hands behind her head.

Her thoughts floated back to one of her earliest memories as she closed her eyes. She was at a playground, at a very young age, barely a child, playing with a boy around her age, in a sandbox.

"_Did you know, that when a couple gets into Tokyo U, they love each other forever?" the young boy asked the young Naru. Before she could reply, Naru felt his lips press quickly on her cheek, making her blush. "Let's go to Tokyo U together, okay Naru?"_

"_O-Okay…" she replied._

"_Promise me!" He held up his small right hand, forming a fist while pointing his pinky out. Naru did the same, and promised, swearing with her pinky._

Naru's lips formed a small smile as she remembered the boy from her memories. _And then, I never saw him again_, she thought. _Heh, maybe I did, one time. I don't know what he looks like, and I don't know his name. Maybe, I saw his face in a crowd of people somewhere, at sometime. When I was seven._

_When I was ten._

_When I was making my way to the Hinata Inn just now, outside in the streets a half-hour ago, passing by a stranger._

The small smile went away.

_Why would I remember such a stupid promise like that? I have no idea who he is. He probably doesn't know me, either. _

_Maybe…he doesn't remember. Maybe…_

A sad chuckle escaped her lips.

_Maybe there are about six billion people in the world, and he can be any one of them. I'm such an idiot, trying to take these exams. All to keep a promise, to someone I'll probably never meet again. I studied so hard, concentrating on studies rather than friends and clubs._

Feeling the pain in her heart mounting, Naru stopped, and let out a deep sigh from her aching chest.

_Maybe I should forget about the promise._ She slowly reached for her towel behind her head, an arm's length away; the hot springs could not relieve her thoughts any longer. _Try something else…_

A ripple could be heard in the water of the inn's hot springs. Frozen, Naru moved her eyes to the sight of a young man walking in the water towards her. _Oh, crap._ She started to float away from him.

The young man started chuckling nervously, and put his right hand, which held his glasses, behind his head.

"Sorry, Mitsune; please don't go," he said awkwardly, "I won't sit _too_ close to you."

_What the _heck _am I gonna do now!?_ she screamed in her head.

"Mitsune…" the stranger began again, "you can't keep avoiding me like this." Naru started wading away again. "Mitsune, you promised!" he continued, his words stopping her. She gasped, remembering her previous thoughts, the pain starting again.

_What?_ she thought.

"I knew I shouldn't have made a promise with you," he said in a dejected manner. She turned slowly, her eyes showing hurt and disbelief.

_Why am I feeling this way? He doesn't know who I am, what my promise is; he thinks I'm someone else. Still…_

"Everyone told me not to." Naru threw her arms into the air as she face-planted into the water.

_WHAT?!_

"But, I did it anyway-" The stranger put up an anguished fist, with tears streaming down his cheeks in waves. "-Because you were my friend." Naru felt on the verge of tears as well. "Don't worry, though; you still have time." She looked up at him, wondering what he would say next.

"You can still fulfill your promise," the stranger explained, "you can still do what you need to do."

For some reason, Naru smiled at the stranger. _What a stupid promise,_ she thought. Standing still, she saw images in her mind. A playground. A sandbox. A little boy, patting down a hill of sand. A little boy's lips, landing upon a little girl's cheek. A little girl, absentmindedly patting down sand as well.

"I…" she whispered. After a moment or two, she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry," she replied in a barely audible voice, moving towards the spa door.

"NOOOOOO!!!" Looking his way, Naru dropped her jaw, seeing the young man charging towards her.

"Ack!" she cried as she ran towards the door. Suddenly, within distance, the young man dove and tackled Naru, creating a big splash.

"You can't do this to me!" he exclaimed. "You can't keep taking money from my wallet to fuel your drinking and gambling habits! You promised that you would pay me back! Why, Mitsune, why?!" Shaking her body from behind, he suddenly noticed his hands were clutching something soft. "Eh? Wait a second…" He turned the still figure around, and put on the glasses that he had in his right hand.

Before himself, he could see a naked, beautiful woman, who clutched her crossed forearms across her breasts, which he seemed to grab and shake with all his might before realizing his mistake.

"Oh…oh, no," he squeaked, with a sheepish grin on his face.

A frown was on Naru's face, until she gritted her teeth, and cocked her right arm back, while still covering her breasts with her left.

"You pervert."

The punch landed into the young man's cheek, hitting with unimaginable strength. He proceed to skid across the surface of the water and break into the fence line surrounding the hot springs, sending shards of wood flying into the air.

Naru ran to get her towel before turning back to the door. Before sliding the door open, she looked at the broken opening at the fence behind her, feeling a little bad about what she did. Naru turned back, and scrunched her face into the chest of another stranger. Looking up, she saw a face with squinting eyes.

"Whoa," the man said, opening his eyes a little more, "who are you?"

"I-"

"Owwww…" Naru and the second stranger looked out to the hot springs to see the accused pervert climb slowly over the broken part of the fence, with a large bruise on his left cheek. "Why'd you hit me?" The second stranger averted his gaze to Naru's back with a look of caution, which then turned into a look of lust as he looked over her toweled figure.

"Because you're a pervert!" Naru replied angrily.

"No, I'm not! It was an accident!" The "accused" caressed his left cheek lightly. Getting annoyed, he looked at the stranger behind Naru. "If anything, _he's_ being a pervert!"

"Eh?" Naru snapped her head towards the second stranger, noticing that her entire backside was bare in all its wet glory. Her eyes slowly focused on the "other" pervert, causing him to freeze in fear and gulp nervously.

"W-Wait," he stammered, backing away from her, his hands up, "it's natural, I mean, it's human nature to look at something like that."

_My bad,_ the first stranger thought, as Naru reared back her right arm once more.

--- A few moments ago…---

He wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand, as he walked through the main entrance of Hinata Inn, carrying a shinai.

_Perhaps I should practice less; I really am getting more and more exhausted from my usual workout…_

Suddenly, there was a crash, as a young man, with a towel tied around his waist, went flying across the floor of the lounge from the right.

_What in…_Mitsune_?_

Both of his hands grasped the shinai as he took a fighting stance.

_An intruder…attacking the inn's residents; this must not be allowed._

"That'll teach you to look at my body like that…" Naru exclaimed, as she entered the lounge area. At that moment, she noticed the teenage warrior, ready to attack.

"Rock-Splitting Attack!" he yelled, sending a wave of energy towards her.

Naru yelped, as she barely got away from the attack. Seeing the staircase nearby, she decided to take her chances to the second level.

"Come back here, you fiend!" He followed her, while Mitsune came to.

"Don't do anything crazy, Makoto! And watch out for her right hook!"

"Mitsune! Where did they go?" the first stranger asked.

"Upstairs, come on!"

---

_What the hell is going on?_ Naru fastened the knot on her towel covering, so that it went over most of her body's private areas, while she ran down the hallway. Suddenly, she noticed someone hanging upside down from a support beam near the ceiling. The teenage boy, with his legs clinging around the beam, was in the middle of a healthy snack when he saw Naru.

"Oh, look, a surprise!" Finishing his snack, he threw down the banana peel to the floor.

"Ack!" With the boy landing in front of her, Naru decided to turn and head up another flight of stairs.

"Hey, wait! Slow down; let us talk," a voice yelled from below.

"I'll slow her down!" Looking back, Naru widened her eyes, as the boy in the school uniform magically wielded a rocket launcher.

_Where did he get that-_

-Whoosh-

The smiling teenager fired upon her. _That…that doesn't _look_ like a rocket_, Naru thought, peering at, what appeared to be, two twirling balls of metal, attached by a black string. Realizing that an unknown projectile hurtling at one's body would not be a good thing in most cases, she started to run. It was too late, however; the projectile hit Naru behind her knees, with the metal balls quickly wrapping the string around her legs. Naru's decision to run proved unwise, as the forward momentum of her run took her face on a trip to the hardwood floor.

Naru gasped as she landed on the side of her head, while shouts of joy could be heard from down the hall, as well as other voices that were getting louder. As she was, she could look inside one of the tenants' rooms. Somehow, she managed to see a katana hanging on a rack. With a grunt, she rolled, all the way to the rack, and knocked it down. Unsheathing the katana, Naru cut herself loose from the tight contraption. At this time, the teenager hopped into the room.

"You can't be in here; no girls allowed! Ooooh, shiny…"

"Get back. Now." He backed away as she pointed the katana at him, and they both ended up back in the hallway.

"My, my katana." Nara turned her head to the voice, seeing a shocked Makoto. Bangs covered his eyes as he lowered his head in anger. "That which is most precious to me…my weapon. My way of life. How dare you handle something that matters so much to me!?" he snarled.

"Crescent moon wave!" A crescent wave of energy barreled down the hallway, hitting both the boy and Naru. Meanwhile, turning the corner, a blue-haired boy walked into the hallway, oblivious as to what was happening, with a load of laundry in his arms.

"W-what's going on here-WAH!" Kaoru and Naru landed on him, as laundry got thrown up into the air.

"Ow," Naru said softly, crumpled in a heap. Trying to get up, she noticed that she was lying on top of the blue-haired boy, who was completely on his back. She also noticed that he was staring at her chest.

"I…I feel strange," he whispered. After a moment, Naru could feel something moving. _Oh…oh God,_ she thought, horrified, quickly moving off of the boy's body. Naru could see a shadow fall over them, from the fluorescent lighting. She looked up to see a horrified Makoto.

"He's a minor. He's not even a teenager yet."

"What are you talking about?! I landed on top of him like that because of _your_ attack!"

"You…you…" Makoto growled, raising his shinai. "Pervert!" Naru waved her hands frantically in front of herself.

"Wait, it was an accident!" Naru shouted, as a wave of energy sent her hurtling into the wall.

_Ow… _she thought, groaning._ I'm in pain, almost naked, surrounded by perverted boys,_ Naru thought, _and I feel…_

Closing her eyelids and dropping her head, Naru blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes:

I've definitely thought about the names, and I suppose I can see how they can be an annoyance with some readers, especially if they know more about Japanese names than I do. To be honest, it just felt easier to keep the names in, and it slipped my mind that Japanese names would be masculine, feminine, or unisex. It's pretty depressing, when I think about it, since I've had foreign language classes, and I feel even more depressed, when I realize that I could have just thought of…English…names (Insert the most epic face-plant in history for the readers here). Realizing this, I guess I can see how much of a problem this might be to readers if I kept the some of the same names (maybe not the biggest problem, but a problem in any case).

So, to sum all that up, I will change the names of the characters (I'll keep others like Naru and Keitaro, as they are who they are). But, not right now (Readers, repeat face-plant). Maybe in the next chapter, or the one after that, they will be changed, but not for this one. In addition, I feel that I will take another suggestion made by the readers. As suggested, I _may_ keep names if they are unisex. According to some readers, this means Shinobu and Mitsune. I actually thought about, and researched for "japanese names" and the like on Google, during my time with the first chapter, so I know Shinobu to be unisex now. I couldn't find anything about Mitsune, but I'm pretty sure you guys are right about that as well. So, keep that in mind about the unisex names.

I've thought about the Naru's fondling of Shinobu, and am leaning towards altering it. In fact, I _have_ altered it in my Word document version. It still will be perverted, because I kind of wanted to end on that note, with Naru accused of being a pervert, but there will be no fondling.

...That last statement is not exactly a ringing endorsement of my good morals, but you get the picture.

Obviously, I may not take every suggestion or constructive criticism readers make, as I may not feel warranted to do so; for instance, I might name Motoko 'Masato' or some other, horrifying and sickening name instead of other suggestions. However, I thank you readers who've taken the time to do an R&R of this fanfic, and even those who simply read and pass by, as I can't say that I have done the same for other writers (eh, I know; I should). I have really taken this too long, so I'll stop noting now.

**Update - 8/18/09:** Names changed for Motoko and Kaolla; changes may stay until further notice. No Kitsune; only Mitsune.

---

Chapter 2: A Dormitory Welcome, Then

Opening her eyes, Naru found herself looking at a ceiling, as she was resting on a futon. Having remembered everything prior to going unconscious, she found the unmoving sight peaceful, compared to the hectic journey through stairs and boys. With her hands at her side, Naru felt her towel, still covering her midsection.

"Heh." Naru turned her head to the stranger kneeling beside her. "I thought about taking off your towel," he continued, blushing, "but decided not to."

Naru continued to look at him, with a worried look on her face.

"Wait, that sounds perverted," he decided, as he looked away and chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "What I mean is that you could've gotten a cold or something like that. Besides, a towel isn't exactly an article of clothing." Adjusting his seating position, he leaned back with his hands, straightening out his legs. "But, then I thought, you would wake up and see that you're wearing your clothes, and remember that you were only wearing a towel before you blacked out. You'd then think that somebody changed your clothes and took off your towel. You'd look at me, and think that I saw you naked." He looked back at Naru. "I didn't want you to call me a pervert and punch me again, so…that's why I didn't take off your towel." The stranger lowered his eyes as he exhaled. Naru felt the fabric of a blanket, which covered anything "perverted" that the stranger could see because of the limited coverage of the towel.

"Thanks," Naru said softly, "I guess." She took a look around the room they were in. "Where are we?"

"In the manager's room."

"Oh."

There was silence as Naru looked back at the ceiling. She thought about the hectic events that led her to being knocked unconscious by Makoto.

"I guess I should also say I'm sorry for…touching you like that." Naru blushed, remembering how the stranger shook her breasts. She glanced quickly at him, and noticed his glasses.

"Oh, just forget it. Actually, I should be sorry for calling you a pervert, and punching you like that," Naru remarked, remembering how he wasn't wearing his glasses in the hot springs. "You were mistaken; you thought I was someone else, since you didn't have your glasses on, and were calling me 'Mitsune.'"

"Yes," he exclaimed, looking relieved, "Exactly, and there was all that steam. It was all a horrible misunderstanding."

_Her breasts…they felt so nice._ He had a faraway look in his eyes as he smiled.

"Well, maybe 'horrible' isn't the right word," he mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Err, nothing. Nothing!"

"Well, anyway, I'm sorry." Naru turned on her side, facing him. "What's your name?"

"Er, Keitaro. Keitaro Urashima." He looked at her longingly.

_She's really attractive, and she's only in a towel._ Suddenly, blood started spurting out of Keitaro's nose. Naru's eyes widened.

"Aah! I'm sorry!" He panicked, waving his arms in the air. Finding a box of tissues on the floor next a table leg, Naru grabbed some and shoved them into his face. After a moment, the bleeding stopped.

"I'm Naru Narusegawa."

"Th-thank you, Naru." Keitaro noticed that she was closer to him, having given him the tissues, causing him to blush a little.

"How the heck can your nose bleed like that?" she asked, looking at his nose, "It was like a water pipe bursting."

"To be honest, I tend to get nose bleeds when I have perverted thoughts."

"I see." Naru looked down at her towel. "Well, I guess I should let it slide." She smirked as she thought of something. "You know, that really seems like a problem, to have nose bleeds like that."

"Heh, I suppose."

"Seriously, when you think of nose bleeds, you think of blood trickling out of your nose. With you, it's tap water coming out of a faucet."

Keitaro was starting to get a little annoyed. "Yeah, yeah, I get it."

"When you die, will the cause of death most likely be 'sexual intercourse?' Boy, I'd hate to be your sexual partner, with all that blood. It'd be like a dam breaking open. Worst. Sex. Ever-"

"Will you knock it off already!?" Keitaro yelled. Stifled chuckles and laughter could be heard behind the door to the room, although both of the occupants did not notice.

"Sorry, sorry. I went a little too far. Hey, look at me." Keitaro sighed and did as she said. After a second or two, he got a little nervous, as she did not say anything. He noticed her sympathetic face, blushing at how cute he thought she seemed. "I'm sorry."

"You're welcome, I suppose." Keitaro broke eye contact, and looked around the room, as it got quiet. Naru continued to look at him.

_He seems like a nice guy…_

"Hey." Keitaro looked back, wondering what she would say. "How did I get all the way from the third floor to the second floor?"

"I…carried you." She smiled as she heard the response she somewhat expected.

"Thanks again."

"No problem."

_Maybe he _is_ a nice guy. Unlike that other pervert…_

"Oh, speaking of names," she said, sparked by a thought, "who's Mitsune?"

"Oh, he's the 'other' pervert." He smiled with his choice of words. "He's the guy with gray hair, the second person you met here." Naru nodded. "He received the 'punishment' that all 'perverts' must endure. You know, you really do punch hard. My face really hurts." Naru scoffed.

"_He_ actually deserves it. That bastard got a full view of my butt."

"Hey!" The door to the room slid open, revealing an angry Mitsune, and the other dorm residents. "You can't go around callin' people 'bastards!'" Half of the residents moved away slightly, embarrassed at being caught listening, while the others either fumed angrily, or hopped happily with a banana in their hands.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Naru said. She gave Mitsune an apologetic look. "I don't know you well enough to call you such things."

Mitsune relaxed. "It's OK, I-"

"So far, I know that you're a pervert," Naru continued, causing Mitsune to plant his face into the floor, "and now, I know that you're an eavesdropper." He twitched, acting as if an arrow went into his heart through his back. Naru remembered a little more information that she was told of about Mitsune, when Keitaro shook her breasts in the hot springs. "Oh, and you're a drinker and a gambler." A couple more figurative arrows pierced Mitsune's heart, causing him to get up dejectedly and mope in a corner.

_Wow, she's mean,_ Keitaro thought, a bead of sweat appearing behind his head.

"Hey, come on. Settle down, guys," he pleaded, "I know, why don't you introduce yourself to everyone else? Get off to a better start?"

"I guess I can do that, but I think I should get dressed first." Naru looked down at her toweled self.

"Yes, I think that would be wise," a soft, low voice announced. Keitaro and Naru looked up to see a woman with short brown hair and a cigarette hanging from her lips, wearing a dark work apron. "These boys tend to have the wildest imaginations, some of which may not be clean, if you know what I mean."

Naru recognized her. "Haruka?"

"You know Aunt Haruka?" Haruka rolled up a piece of paper she had in her hands, and chucked it at Keitaro, hitting him squarely on the head.

"It's Haruka," she said, with a slight change in the neutral tone of her voice, "but Keitaro's right about the other matter. After you get dressed, meet us all in the lobby, and we'll have a little chat to clear things up."

"What brings you up here, Haruka?" Makoto asked, resting his katana on his shoulder.

"Kaoru let me know what was happening, actually," Haruka replied, as the boy jumped around the other residents upon hearing his name. "For some reason, he sent one of his toy airplanes by the tea shop to drop off a message…before it crashed into one of the tables inside, causing irreparable damage to it." In a rare moment, Haruka showed some emotion and furrowed her brow in anger.

"Y-you're ok, aren't you, Haruka?" Shinobu asked.

"Yes."

"Oops," Kaoru said with a sheepish smile, "I haven't perfected my model airplanes, but I'm _very close_! Hee hee, still, it must've been an _awesome_ explosion, right, Haruka?" He jumped in front of Haruka, when she stopped him with her hands and forced him to be still.

"No, it was awful. I expect you to come by the tea shop later on, and help me clean up the mess, ok?"

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to do it. I just wanted to let you know what was happening."

"Well, all right, just don't send any more planes."

"OK!"

With that matter settled, Haruka decided to head to the lounge area. "If you want to read it, the message is actually the ball of paper I threw at you, Keitaro." She looked at Naru. "We'll be waiting." Seeing her leave, the other dorm residents decided to follow her downstairs, except for Keitaro, who unrolled the ball of paper.

"Hiya Haruka. Come quick, there's a girl in here. She's not moving, maybe she's dead? She's also in a towel. PS, bring some bananas. Kaoru." He shook his head in disbelief after reading the message out loud. "Well, I should let you get dressed."

"Yeah."

"See you down there," Keitaro said, before sliding the door shut. A moment later, Naru took off her towel, and looked through her bag of clothes, with her back to the door.

_Where are my bras?_

Suddenly, the door slid open. "I should get those bloody tissues out of the room-"

Keitaro froze, seeing Naru's naked backside.

"Knock before you enter, you pervert!" Naru screamed, before punching him through the door opening.

---

Wearing a yellow long sleeve shirt and brown Capri pants, Naru went downstairs. As she walked on down, she could sense that they were all looking at her. Sure enough, Naru glanced over and saw that her assumption was true, as some of them shifted their gazes. She walked over to the furniture set where Haruka and the residents gathered.

"Well, this is awkward," Naru remarked as she sat down on the couch, with Haruka to her right, and Keitaro to his aunt's right.

"I agree," Haruka stated, "so let's not make this more uncomfortable than it has to be. Let's just do names or introductions if you'd like. Just some light stuff. Let's start with you."

"Uh, hi everyone. My name is Naru Narusegawa. I needed some place to stay, so I came here-"

"Wait, Naru, you said you came here because you needed a place to stay?" Haruka asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Don't you know? This place is no longer the Hinata Inn."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"The inn was turned into a dormitory a little while ago. It's now an all-male dormitory…sorry."

"An all-male dormitory?" Haruka nodded, looking at her shocked face. "But…I don't understand. Hina called my mom, telling me to come here-"

"Hina?!?" Naru flinched, as the residents all spoke at the same time.

"You know my grandma?" Keitaro asked.

"She's your grandmother?" He nodded, as he focused on her more intently, as everyone else did. "Well, I don't know her that well; I only know her through my mother, who knew her some time ago. She called her, like I said, and said that she wanted me to come to Hinata for some reason." Naru turned to Haruka. "Does Grandma Hina own Hinata?"

"Yes. I'm surprised that Hina told you to come here, and didn't mention anything about that." Naru sighed.

_What do I do now?_ Naru thought, as she leaned against the sofa arm.

"Don't worry about tonight, Naru. You can stay here for a little while."

"Are you sure, Haruka?"

"I'm sure, but I don't know how the other guys feel about this." Haruka looked to the left, where Shinobu sat on a similar couch.

"Let's vote!" Kaoru suggested.

"Sure, Kaoru. How do you feel about Naru, Shinobu?"

"Uh, I wouldn't mind if Naru stayed for the night," Shinobu said, looking at Haruka.

Makoto calmly sat beside Shinobu, clearing his throat before speaking. "I suppose there would not be any harm in letting Narusegawa stay here. She does not appear to be a threat or danger to anyone, despite the hectic chase that occurred earlier this afternoon. I have issues that need to be resolved with Narusegawa…" He glanced over to her, and then closed his eyes. "…but I will talk with her later in private."

_What the heck is that about?_ Naru thought. Opposite from Shinobu and Makoto, and to Naru, Haruka, and Keitaro's right, sat Kaoru and Mitsune.

"Of course, I'm glad that you're staying here! There's always room for one more…" Kaoru pulled out a blueprint of the Hinata Inn behind his back. "In fact, there's room for many more! Look how many rooms there are! Actually, this place would be _really profitable_ if we turned the dormitory back to an inn-" At this moment, Mitsune jabbed him in the ribs. "Ow, what was that for?"

"Shut up, shut up," Mitsune muttered to him, under his breath, "even now, I can't make the rent payments; I'll have no place to live…" Turning back to Naru, he chuckled nervously, patting Kaoru on the back.

"I think I can speak for all of us, _especially_ my friend Kaoru, when I say that you are most welcome to live here for as long as you need. Besides, who could refuse a strong, young, and beautiful woman, such as yourself?"

"Thank you," Naru replied, a little annoyed.

_I hope he doesn't make any passes at me, the creep…_

Finally, they all looked at Keitaro. Keitaro felt a bead of sweat behind his head, seeing all of them focusing so intently on him. He looked at Naru.

_It doesn't really matter what he says, since I have the majority,_ Naru thought, _but still…_

"Of course she can stay. We have plenty of room, like Kaoru said, and my grandma wanted you to come here, so if she wants you here, then you should be here, even if it's now an all-male dormitory."

"Well, then; it's settled. Naru, you can stay here tonight and longer if you need to."

"Thank you, Haruka."

"Mmmhmm. I'll contact Hina later on, and see if we can clear some things up. Meanwhile, I have temporarily closed my tea shop for a little while, and most likely lost some business." Haruka started walking towards the inn entrance.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Haruka turned her head slightly while still walking.

"I'm just kidding, Naru. Don't worry about it. Have fun, you guys." The residents said their farewells and turned their attention back to themselves, each of them wondering what to do to pass the time.

"Excuse me, Mitsune. Do you know what time it is?" Shinobu asked. Mitsune glanced at his watch.

"Oh, it's about a quarter past five."

"I see. I'll have to prepare to cook dinner for you guys." Getting up, he gave Naru a small bow. "It was very nice to meet you, Naru."

"You too," Naru said, as he hurried to the kitchen.

"Oh, I'm so hungry," Mitsune groaned, stretching his arms and back out, "and tired."

"Perhaps, if you were on a regimen of daily exercise and a healthy diet, you would not be so 'tired,'" Makoto observed, as he began to walk upstairs.

"If you were on _my_ 'regimen' of lengthy drinking and excessive gambling, you would actually be fun to hang around." With the couches right next to the staircase, the residents could see Makoto twitch as he stopped briefly near the bottom of the stairs. _Hehe, let's see where this goes,_ Mitsune thought gleefully, turning his face away from Makoto as he smiled broadly. He instantly faced Kaoru, who smiled broadly as well. This caused him to lose his smile.

"Mitsune is right, Makoto! You are _really boring!_" Mitsune grinned widely again at Kaoru's jab, while Makoto blushed slightly and twitched again. "Even Shinobu's more expressive." Makoto tightened his lips.

_Stay calm, _Makoto_. Don't show any emotions. You must not show any weaknesses. You must show that you're strong; you must show that you're a warrior._

There was still a blush on his cheeks, but Makoto appeared to regain his composure. Meanwhile, Mitsune thought of something that would really get Makoto going.

"Hey, Kaoru, who's cooler: Makoto or Keitaro?" Makoto turned and grasped the staircase railing tightly, dropping his katana while looking at Mitsune with desperate eyes.

"Mit-Mitsune, please, I must protest! You are taking this too far!" Mitsune noticed the raised voice, which was a rarity with Makoto, except with attacks from his katana and shinai.

"Hmmm…who's cooler? Makoto, Keitaro. Makoootoooo…Keitaaaaaaro…" Kaoru looked up at the ceiling, sitting cross-legged while tapping a finger on his chin.

"Kaoru, maybe we should call it a tie," Keitaro said, worrying about Makoto, "anyways, who cares about that, Mitsune?"

"Yes, yes. I agree with Urashima. We are…equally cool," Makoto concurred. Thinking that the worst was over, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Now, if you asked who was stronger, than there would be a clear favorite..."

"What!?"

_Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut,_ Makoto thought, once again fearing the worst.

"Screw it! Kaoru, _I'm_ the cooler one, not Makoto. He is the most boring resident here at Hinata." Makoto gawked at Keitaro in shock.

"No, I'm not!"

"Like you said, who cares?" Naru asked, even though she was amused. Makoto leaned over the railing to look at her, while Keitaro only had to turn. "It's obvious that Mitsune is just doing this to mess with you guys."

Mitsune frowned at her. _Stop messing with my affairs, lady!_

A moment of silence passed as they all thought about what she said. Mitsune fidgeted in his seat, waiting for something to happen.

"Naru, I'm cool, right?" Keitaro asked, leaning over to her side of the sofa.

"What?" He leaned in closer, and whispered.

"Just, say I'm cooler. You owe me; you punched me for being a pervert, even though I wasn't. And, Makoto? He sent you flying into a wall. He could've really hurt you, you know?"

"Don't get so close to me," she muttered, getting a little irritated, as he continued to whisper.

"You would've suffered brain damage, been…bed-ridden…with a coma-"

"-Actually, Makoto," Naru said out loud, tilting her head up so that she could see him, "you seem pretty cool."

Makoto down at Naru's upside-down face with puzzled curiosity. _She thinks I'm cool?_

"You...you don't think I'm boring?"

"Not really. Like, that katana. I see you carrying it, like it's no big deal. I look at you with it, and I think to myself…" Naru paused as she searched for the right words. "'…That's badass.'"

Shocked, Makoto couldn't help but give a small, yet noticeable smile. "Thank you, Narusegawa."

"I think Makoto looks cool, too!" Kaoru chimed in, causing Keitaro to hang his head in shame. "He looks so cool, attacking with his katana. Banana split wave attack!…mmmm, bananas." After drooling for a second, he turned to Mitsune. "I've decided! Makoto is _way cooler_ than Keitaro." Still with a small smile on his face, Makoto continued to his room.

Tears flowed out of Keitaro's closed eyes, as he raised a fist in anguish. _One day, I'll show you all that I am cool…_

Looking depressed, Keitaro got up, and walked slowly to the stairs. Naru, feeling slightly amused, and responsible for Keitaro, followed him.

"Heh, I'm sorry, Keitaro; maybe I shouldn't have commented on something so silly…" she said, continuing as they disappeared upstairs. Seeing them go, Mitsune got up, with Kaoru quickly doing the same. They chatted as they made their way to their rooms, waiting for dinner.

---

Ramblings (I had some thoughts about writing various parts of this chapter, and would express what I felt was funny, or interesting to explore, through some long-winded rant by a character or two. In this case, it's Mitsune and Kaoru, kind of going off-tangent from the "banana split wave attack" line that Kaoru had. If you find it satisfactory, you can feel free to include it with the actual story, at the end of this chapter.)

"You know, I don't think I've had a banana split before. Sure I know what it is, and what it would look like, but I just never got around to eating ice cream, along with a banana."

"Bananas and ice cream? That sounds delicious!" Kaoru exclaimed.

"It probably is. Probably better than the "hot-and-spicy curry over bananas" meal you concocted yesterday."

"What are you talking about? I found it to be very tasty." Mitsune turned to him, giving him a restrained look of disbelief.

"Your taste buds called; they want their gun back, so that they can blow their brains out."

"What? I don't have a gun."

"Whenever, I'm eating ice cream," Mitsune continued, trying to forget Kaoru's comment about curry and bananas, "having a banana split never crosses my mind. I probably wouldn't eat one now, though. I mean, what is it going to be, like a half-hour until dinner? It wouldn't be worth it; I'd ruin my appetite."

"It'd be better than being hung-over, vomiting from over-drinking, I imagine," Makoto remarked, passing them by on the stairs. Mitsune stared at Makoto, with a small frown on his face. "I forgot my katana." He continued down the stairs. Mitsune and Kaoru stood still on the stairs for a few seconds.

"Could you imagine Makoto drunk? I would pay to see that, to see Makoto drunk."

"What's 'drunk?'" Is it tasty?"

---


	3. Chapter 3

**Update – 8/27/09:** Chapter 3 updated.

**Update – 8/26/09:** Some important news regarding this fanfic in the author's notes section at the end of this chapter. For spoiler's sake, **if you haven't read Ch.3 yet, read it first**, and then go to author's notes. In any case, it's hardly a spoiler (it probably isn't one), but I'm talking about something in this chapter, so I'm just taking care.

---

Chapter 3: Dinner, Some Studying, and a Kiss?

---A half-hour later…---

Naru finished the section of problems on the advanced algebra, writing down her final answers and work into a separate notebook. She skimmed through the textbook, looking for the Answer section. Locating the corresponding answers for the section she just finished, she frowned, as she noticed that she had solved the first problem incorrectly.

_Oh well, no need to worry._ She marked an X in the margin of the notebook paper, next to the incorrect work. A knock sounded at the door.

"Yes?"

"It's Shinobu; I'm here to say that dinner's ready."

"It's all right that I eat with you guys?"

"Of course, Naru-sempai! I've made more than usual, so there's plenty to eat."

"Oh, all right. I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Ok."

She placed her pencil inside the textbook to keep her place, and closed her notebook. Naru made her way downstairs and into the dining room, discovering that she was the first one at the table.

_I guess Shinobu got to my door first._

Taking a seat nearest to a corner of the table, Naru waited, while taking in the aroma of the nice-looking dishes before her.

_Wow, this looks great._

Hearing a yawn, Naru looked to the entrance of the dining room and saw Mitsune come in. He saw her as well, and gave her the nod of the head.

"Hey, how's it goin'?" he asked, taking a seat directly across from her.

"It's all right." She lifted her right hand from her lap, looking down and feeling the edge of the table with her thumb and forefinger. "Didn't have any more perverted encounters with the tenants." He smiled as he remembered what he saw at the hot springs.

"Good, good. Shouldn't have too many of those." After a moment, he leaned in a little bit. "Hey, listen, I think we got off on the wrong foot." Naru looked up at him.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I gotta say, I'm really sorry for looking at you like that in the hot springs; I couldn't help myself. There you were, in the flesh. You looked very nice, by the way. You have a nice figure…" Naru blushed and looked away, getting embarrassed and angry in the process. "But I should've known better. I shouldn't have been tempted by a naked woman. I guess I should've looked away. Or I should've looked at your head and face." Still blushing, Naru looked back at Mitsune. "So, I'm sorry…for being a pervert." She still frowned at him after his apology. "Ah, come on. I'm really sorry." He opened his eyes and looked intently into hers. "Ok?" After a moment, Naru softened her look.

"Ok." She looked away, observing the food again.

"We're good?" he asked, as she grasped the glass of water in front of her and took a sip.

"Yeah." As they cleared the air, they could hear the other residents conversing as they got closer to the dining room.

"Good," he said, looking towards the hallway, "well, here they come."

"Hopefully, dinner will be uneventful."

"You can always hope." Mitsune leaned back into his chair and extended his legs. "Hang on to your hat…and towel." He felt Naru's foot hit hard against his shin. "Ow," he exclaimed, as Shinobu, Keitaro, Makoto, and Kaoru walked in.

"What's going on?" Keitaro asked.

"We're playing 'footsies,'" Mitsune answered, as Naru responded with another stomp, causing him to grimace. "And she's winning." The other residents began to take their seats.

"Shinobu," Mitsune said, as Shinobu looked at him. Mitsune pointed at his glass of water. "This better be vodka."

"You can't take alcohol with every meal, Mitsune," he replied, slightly worried with his drinking, despite Mitsune's joke.

"You know what, I _probably_ could. I should make this my new mission in life, to have alcohol with every meal." Although he still seemed be joking, Shinobu couldn't help but shed a bead of sweat behind his head.

"Is this related to your mission to die by the age of thirty?" asked an indifferent Keitaro, who was seated to Naru's right.

"In any case, both should have very high success rates," Makoto deadpanned as he sat to Mitsune's left.

"Ha ha ha," Mitsune laughed sarcastically. He raised his glass. "Well, you guys, let's drink to my mission, even though I am essentially failing it by having a glass of water. Oh, and let's drink to Naru solving…whatever problem she has right now."

"Yeah," Kaoru agreed, raising his glass while being seated to Makoto's left.

"Thank you, Mitsune, Kaoru."

"You're welcome, Naru," Mitsune said. "I think you're gonna like it here, Naru; enjoy your stay."

"Let's hope so," she replied, as she ate with the rest of the residents. She could feel her mouth water in between bites of food. "Wow, this food is amazing."

"Thank you," said Shinobu, blushing at the compliment. Naru leaned in and looked to her right, so that she could see Shinobu.

"You made this all by yourself?"

"Yes."

"That's really incredible." She shook her head in disbelief. "How old are you?"

"I'm twelve."

"This is really something; you have a great talent."

"Th-thank you, Naru." Still blushing, he smiled as looked down at his food and continued eating.

The others did the same, enjoying the meal for a little bit. Seeing his glass empty, Makoto got up and walked to the nearby counter, where a cold pitcher of water sat.

"So, what were you doing in your room, Naru?" Mitsune asked, causing the other residents to take notice of his question. "Anything fun? Anything interesting?"

"What kind of question is that?" she asked, with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Oh, well, I guess it's just a random and stupid question."

"Uh-huh."

"It's just that I was pretty bored up in my room, waiting for dinner. I had no idea of what to do. Just thought that, maybe, you were having a better time than I was." Mitsune went back to the meal. Naru ate some more, as they all did.

"I was studying," she finally replied, taking in some more rice.

"That's not very exciting," Mitsune remarked, causing Naru to frown in anger.

"Of course it isn't. What did you expect?"

"Are you studying for entrance exams?" Keitaro asked.

"Yes."

"Which university are you trying for?"

"Tokyo University."

"Huh, me too; I'm also trying for Tokyo University."

"Oh. Well, good luck to the both of us, I suppose."

"Definitely." Keitaro gave Naru a smile before resuming his eating.

---

After the meal, the most of the residents went back to their rooms, with Shinobu taking care of the dishes. Kaoru clung to Makoto, as he walked all the way up to the third floor, where their rooms were.

"Thanks for the ride, Makoto." Jumping off, Kaoru could see something on his door. "Hey, what's this?"

"I don't know." He went in front of Kaoru's door as well, and read it. "It's from Haruka, about the damage one of your toys caused in her tea shop. She's reminding you to go there. Right now, apparently." Kaoru frowned as he remembered.

"I forgot." He turned to Makoto. "I don't want to go."

"Didn't you say that you would? You should keep your word." In response, Kaoru waved his remarks off with his hand.

"I'll just send another model airplane, telling her that I can't make it." Before entering his room, Kaoru felt a tug at his collar, causing him to stop. He could see that it was Makoto.

"Go to the tea shop and keep your word," Makoto said, looking into his eyes with sincere wishes. After a moment, Kaoru sighed sadly. Turning around, he walked back downstairs with his shoulders slumped. On the staircase, he noticed Makoto behind him.

"Why are you following me?" Kaoru asked.

"Just in case you decide to go back to your room." A loud groan escaped from Kaoru's lips, as his shoulders slumped even more while he walked down the stairs. Amused with his glumness, and with a small smile on his face, Makoto escorted Kaoru to his destination.

---A few minutes later…---

Naru marked another X in her notebook, next to the work and answer for the last problem, number twenty. She frowned as she looked over her work.

_Twelve out of twenty right…that's not good enough._ She readjusted the glasses she used for studying and reading, and tossed her pencil on top of her notebook, before falling backwards from her seat on the floor to rest for a little bit. After some quiet, a knock sounded at her door.

"Who is it?"

"It's Keitaro. I was just wondering if, maybe, I could study with you." She paused as she thought about what he said.

"Uh, I don't know…"

"C'mon, please? I need some help studying, and I thought that you would be able to help. Please?"

Naru sighed. _Actually, I'm pretty bored; maybe some company will help with the studying._

"Okay," she said. Widening her eyes, however, Naru noticed that she was dressed in a sweatshirt and some sweatpants.

"Thank you so much." He began to slide open the door. "I-"

"Wait!" Keitaro jumped back in surprise, with his books in hand, as Naru shut the door on him. "I'm not dressed properly." Looking at the shut door, he tried to comprehend what she just said.

"'Not…dressed properly?'" Images began to surface, as Keitaro thought about her statement. He imagined her sitting in front of her low table, with her books, only in her undergarments.

"_So the derivative of 2x is 2…" Naru said out loud. She sighed as she just couldn't think hard enough. "I can't study like this." Reaching behind her back, she unhooked her black bra, letting her breasts bare. Standing up, she hooked her thumbs inside her panties, pushing them down and revealing her fully-naked body. "Ah, I can finally study properly..."_

He smiled as he thought about these images. _She's beautiful…_ Moments later, blood spurt from his nose, and he tried to stop the bleeding. Naru slid open the door, dressed in a long-sleeve white dress shirt and blue jeans, with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows.

"All right, I…" Seeing that his nose was bleeding profusely, and remembering her last comment, she furrowed her brow in anger, and went back into her room briefly before coming back into view. "You pervert," she said, as she reared back her right arm.

"I'm sorry! Please, don't…" Keitaro closed his eyes, and waited for her punch. Instead, he felt her hand shoving tissues into his face.

"Get in here," Naru growled, pulling him in by his shirt. "What the heck did you think I meant by 'not dressed properly?' That I was naked?"

"What were you wearing then?"

"Just sweatpants and other stuff."

"Then why would I care?! Who cares if you're wearing sweatpants?!"

"Just forget it, you pervert," she muttered, as she closed the door.

---Meanwhile...---

Kaoru hurried down the steps leading to the Hinata Inn. Makoto had let him go outside the entrance of the inn, trusting him to go to Haruka's tea shop alone. Finally, he had reached it.

"Hi, Haruka!" She was sitting at one of the tables, with a pack of cigarettes in one hand, resting on the table's surface.

"It's about time." Haruka got up and walked to another table, closer to the tea shop's entrance. She observed the table's damaged surface. "So, here it is." Kaoru walked up to the table as well. He saw the black burn mark, covering about half of the surface. "What do you think we should do, Kaoru?"

"I'm not sure…" He rubbed his chin, and started to speak, when a mechanical whirring sounded. They both looked towards the sound, coming from another room in the back of the tea shop. Haruka made her way to the back, followed by Kaoru, and found the sound coming from the fax machine, as she expected. After a few more moments, the fax printed out, allowing her to read it.

"That's interesting," Haruka noted.

---

"But, how do you do that?" Keitaro asked Naru, a little confused. She sighed and flipped a few pages back to the example.

"You see right here? Maybe you should read through that part again."

"All right." He looked over the example, while Naru returned to her own work. "I think I got it."

"Good." Turning to the practice problems, he started to write down his work in his notebook.

"Hey, so, you said that you were trying for Tokyo U, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, why Tokyo U? What made you decide to go for that school?" Dreading the possibility of this question being asked, Naru kept working for a few seconds, trying to think of what to say.

"Oh, uh…I don't know."

"You don't know? I don't think you'd try for one of the harder universities in the country, for no reason, just on a whim."

"Like I said, I don't know."

"Come on, tell me."

"I. Don't. Know." He paused at her halting and agitated response, and decided not to push the issue further.

"All right, I'll stop. I was just trying to get to know you better; that's all. I don't know too many other people who are trying to get into college right now, much less the same one I want to go to." Looking at the example, and back at the first problem in the practice set, Keitaro felt something click in his mind, and proceeded to start his work. "Thanks, I think I get this part now." Naru stayed quiet, as she looked across the table at him, noticing a determined look on his face. She went back to her work, writing away with her head down.

"I'm going to Tokyo U," Naru finally answered, causing him to look at her lowered head, "because I made a promise to someone. That I'd go."

"You promised a friend?"

"Yeah, someone like that," she replied after a pause.

"Must be some kind of friend," Keitaro remarked, continuing to write. Naru stopped writing again, as other thoughts and memories occupied her mind.

---

"What did the fax say, Haruka?" Kaoru asked.

"Something important," she replied, "It's from Hina."

"Ooh. Who's it for?"

"Me. She gave us a couple numbers to reach her by, when she decided to travel around the world, including a fax number." She grabbed a pen from her desk, where her fax machine sat upon, and wrote something on the received fax, near the top of the paper. After her note, she sent the paper back through the fax machine, to send back to the return phone number.

"You're sending a fax back?"

"Yeah. I'm just asking Hina if she's sure about what she wants to do."

---

"Okay, I'm done," Keitaro announced, as he rechecked all his work. He raised his head from his work and looked at Naru, seeing her busy with her own books. "Can _you_ grade it for me?" He picked up his notebook and held it above her work in front of her eyes.

"Why? Just do it yourself."

"Please?"

She let out a sigh, glancing at his work in front of her. "Fine, let me see." She reached over the table, grabbing his textbook, and took the notebook he held out for her, placing them on top of her work. Turning to the answer section of the textbook, Naru checked the answers against his. He looked at her, the textbook, and his notebook intently, awaiting his grade. Looking over each answer, she began marking on his notebook, and a drop of sweat appeared behind Keitaro's head.

"Hey, there can't be that many wrong, can there?" Keitaro asked, reaching for his notebook. Naru promptly moved his notebook and textbook out of reach onto the floor to her left and continued grading. He stood up and walked around the table to his left, stopping behind her.

After a few more seconds, she stood up as well, shaking her head while sighing.

"You're hopeless," she said, causing him to groan and hang his head in shame. "I thought you said that you got this, but you didn't. You got so many wrong."

"I couldn't have done that badly; let me see!" he exclaimed, reaching out with his right hand and lunging towards her. She leaned away from him, and shielded his notebook, as he was right against her back.

"How are you going to pass with scores like this?"

"Well, maybe you checked the wrong answers. Come on; let me see how I did." Reaching for his notebook again, he did not watch his step, as he placed his foot on top of his open textbook. The force of his foot going against his textbook caused it to slide out from beneath his foot, and he lost his footing, falling on top of Naru.

"Whoa!"

"Ow." They were both still, and blushing, on the floor, as they were not sure on what to do. "I'm sorry." Naru had her shoulders and head against the wall, while Keitaro was on his hands and knees, on top of her, with their heads only a foot apart.

"Uh-huh." For some reason, she couldn't help but look into his eyes. She felt a spur-of-the-moment attraction coming on, causing her to keep close to him.

"Naru…" he whispered, his face slowly and slowly getting closer to hers. To her surprise, she found herself doing the same as well.

"Yeah…?" she asked, feeling flushed.

"_Did you know, that when a couple gets into Tokyo U, they love each other forever?"_

Blinking, Naru stopped herself, remembering her promise. She could see Keitaro close his eyes and pucker his lips a little, before leaning in for the kiss. At the last second, she turned her face to the left, causing him to kiss her on the cheek instead. Keitaro opened his eyes, seeing that he did not kiss her on the lips. Feeling slightly dejected, he chuckled softly.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have tried to kiss you." She turned her head back to face him, as he started to get up. He walked around, trying to calm down, and hoping that she didn't want to punch him again.

"No, no," she said quickly, getting up. "It's okay."

"Okay." He kept his eyes to the floor, and, seeing his textbook and notebook, kneeled down to pick them up.

"I didn't mean anything by it. It's not like I hate you," Naru explained, looking at Keitaro keep his head down. "You actually seem like a really nice guy." He stopped, about to go for his notebook, and placed his textbook on the table instead. "Really." He raised his head with a small smile on his face.

"Thanks," he said genuinely.

"I just…didn't want to, for some reason." Giving her a nod, he looked back at his textbook, where his hand was, and felt a corner of it, unsure of what to say next. Naru was unsure as well, as she looked down at her feet. Doing this, she noticed Keitaro's notebook near her on the floor, and knelt down, picking it up and offering it to him.

"Thanks," Keitaro repeated, taking his notebook and placing it atop his textbook on the table.

"Hey," Naru said, getting his attention, "Do you want to get some air?"

---

The fax machine sounded again, signaling another fax coming through. Sitting at her desk in the back of the tea shop, Haruka lifted the top of her cigarette pack and pulled out a cigarette, putting it in between the middle of her lips. As she took her lighter out of her apron pocket and lit the cigarette, she saw that it did not take long for the fax to come out. She flipped over the fax so she could read it:

_Yes, I am sure. Please notify them ASAP._

_Hina_

Exhaling smoke from the lit cigarette, Haruka let the fax rest on the desk.

_It's official, then,_ she thought, pocketing the two folded-up faxes into her apron pocket, in addition to her cigarette pack and lighter. She got up from her desk and exited the small room through the door frame to the right, close by the desk and chair. Walking towards the damaged table near the tea shop's entrance, where Kaoru was, she watched as Kaoru appeared to work on the table's surface, with his back turned towards her, and the back of his head covered by a band.

"Hina confirmed her earlier fax," Haruka said, taking another puff from her cigarette, "I guess we'll have to find Keitaro and Naru, and tell them what's happened."

"What about the table?" Kaoru asked.

"We can worry about that later." She folded her arms and let the cigarette dangle from the side of her lips, as she looked outside the tea shop from where she stood, noting the contrast of the lighted indoors and the darkened sky. To her left, something sounded and lit up, causing Haruka to look at Kaoru with uncertainty. "What are you doing, Kaoru?" she asked. Sparks flew around Kaoru's head, as if he was tinkering with something, making her more nervous, as she could not see what he was up to.

"All finished!" he exclaimed, turning his head towards her and revealing that he was wearing a welding mask. Kaoru took it off, placing it on the table's surface to his left, and picked up his finished work that his body hid. Turning around in his seat, Kaoru held in his hands a model airplane. Haruka could feel dread in her mind, as a small frown made itself apparent on her lips.

"No," she simply said," no more planes."

"It's okay. It's not a messenger plane; it's a _scout_ plane." Pressing and holding a round red button on top of the model airplane, behind the pilot's capsule seat section, Kaoru leaned towards the pilot's black and glass-covered seat. "Scout, Model Number 000001, find-"

"Kaoru…" Haruka said out loud, growing weary of his presence in her tea shop. A beep from the model airplane stopped her from continuing.

"Roger; find Kaoru," a mechanized voice boomed.

"Hey," he exclaimed, dropping the airplane, as the airplane's wheels spun and hurt him. Landing with a loud clack, but seemingly intact, it speeded towards the tea shop entrance and flew into the air, escaping from sight. Haruka sighed.

"Come on, Kaoru. Let's find them."

"Stupid plane, I'm right here." He scratched his head and looked outside, wondering where it could've gone. Then, a soft buzzing could be heard from outside, getting louder and louder. Puzzled, Kaoru and Haruka peered outside, wondering what it could be. Finally, he widened his eyes, and she grit her cigarette between her teeth, as the plane came back into view, heading straight towards Kaoru.

---

Naru and Keitaro made their way down the steps, all the way to the bottom, reaching street level. The night air was somewhat cool, with a crescent moon in the sky, and the streets a little quiet. In front of the steps leading up to the Hinata Inn was sidewalk, along with an azure metal bench, and a bus stop sign next to it. Since exiting her room, Naru had not spoken, along with Keitaro.

_I wonder why she isn't saying anything._ Walking next to her the entire time, he decided to stay quiet, too. She made her way past to the bus stop, and looked both ways along the street before crossing it, surprising him.

"Um, okay, we're now crossing the street," he said, following her, "Where are we going?"

"I don't know." As she said this, she realized that she really didn't know where she was going. After crossing the street, Naru slowed to a stop. She turned sideways to lean back against a wall of a short-story concrete building at the corner of the block. With a faraway look in her eyes, she stared at the street next to the sidewalk, not noticing Keitaro to her right, and staying quiet for several seconds as a couple of cars passed by. "What do you want to do?" she finally asked quietly. Surprised at such a question, he paused as he wasn't sure about what to say. However, looking past Naru, at a photo booth against the wall, further away from them, Keitaro had a thought.

"Do you want to take a picture with me in the photo booth?" he asked, pointing at the booth.

"What? No," she replied clearly, causing him to clutch his heart in agony. "I mean, what do you want to do for a living? What would you like to do? What interests you?"

"Oh." She looked at him as he leaned back against the wall and looked up at the night sky, unable to see the stars because of the street lights. "Actually, I don't know what I'd want to do."

She looked back down at the sidewalk.

"Me, too. You know, for most of my life, I've wanted to go to Tokyo U. I just kind of focused on studying, getting good grades. But, somehow, someway, if I made it into Tokyo U, what would I do? What would I major in? What would make me say, 'I want to do this?'" She sighed. "Sometimes, I tell myself that I should forget about Tokyo U. I think about my promise, and ask myself, 'Do I really want this?' 'Is it worth it?' Should I keep my promise, just because someone was nice to me?" Naru thought about her promise, and how unlikely it would be to meet the young boy she made the promise with. "Should I keep it, even if it doesn't mean anything in the end?" Keitaro stayed quiet for a few moments, thinking of what to say to her.

"You know," he began, looking down, "I'm one of those guys who believe that you can do anything you set your heart to. Sometimes, it takes time. Maybe it's just about going and going, keeping your head up. If you want to do something, you can do it. If you want to get into Tokyo U, you can get there." He paused, thinking about his own experience with the entrance exams. "This isn't something I say very often to other people." He paused again, taking a breath. "This isn't my first time, preparing to take the entrance exams."

"This isn't your first time?" She realized what he was saying. "So you failed your entrance exams." He nodded as he looked at her. "So, this is your second try." Rubbing the back of his head, he looked away.

"It's my third try."

"You…you failed twice." Closing his eyes, Keitaro slowly nodded again. "Wow, you are an idiot," she said while crossing her arms. He planted his face into the sidewalk.

"Don't insult me, you meanie! I'm trying to help you!" he yelled, with tears coming from his eyes.

"I'm sorry; I just can't believe you failed twice."

"And…maybe I'll fail again," he replied frankly, thinking about the sad possibility. "But, I'll keep trying the next year. Sure, sometimes, I don't want to keep going; I'll feel like stopping. Most of the time I'll want to try again because I want to go to Tokyo U, just like you. I know I want to get into Tokyo U, and, to be honest, I _know_ I'll get in. It'll just take time, practice, hard work." Keitaro shoved his hands into his pants pockets and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know; if you want to keep a promise to go to Tokyo U, then you can do it. If you…don't want to keep your promise, you can do that too." Naru looked at Keitaro, having not thought about this course of action often. "It's up to you." He looked up at her face, and, seeing it, gave her a supportive smile. She gave a smile as well, and looked back to the sidewalk and street, thinking about what he said. A car went by to her left and she gazed at it. As it went by, Naru took notice of the photo booth next to her, a few feet away.

"What did you want to do?" she asked. He looked at her.

"Huh?"

"You wanted to take a picture with me in the photo booth, right?" A look of surprise surfaced on his face.

"Yeah."

"Wait, we can't," she said as she realized something. He frowned as she ruffled through her pockets. "I don't have any money; do you?"

"Oh," he exclaimed, as the thought hadn't occurred to him. "We just went outside randomly, so…" He searched through his pockets, finding nothing. "I don't have any money, either."

"Oh well," she said, walking next to him. He blushed slightly as she got close to him. "Maybe next time."

"Maybe." Looking across the street to the Hinata steps, Keitaro thought it was time. "Do you want to go back now?"

"Yeah, let's go." Waiting near the edge of the sidewalk, they watched a car go by to their left, and crossed the street. To their surprise, they saw Haruka and Kaoru hurrying down the steps to Hinata as they reached the bus stop.

"Kaoru, how do you stop that thing?!" Haruka yelled, running towards the street, with Kaoru close by.

"Haruka?" a puzzled Keitaro asked. At that moment, they could hear a buzzing in the air.

"Duck!" she yelled, dropping to the sidewalk while tugging at Keitaro and Naru's clothes. They obeyed her command, as a model airplane flew down and whizzed past their heads.

"A plane? What is going on?" Naru asked, her eyes following the plane's flight.

"Just another invention mishap," Haruka answered, giving Kaoru a look. "Kaoru, can't you stop that plane?"

"I think when I made the plane, I forgot to make it so that it would keep an eye on the person, and not fly directly into a person." He stood up, seeing the plane turning around and setting its sights on him again. "It will not stop until it hits its target…or runs out of gas."

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I have a plan, Haruka." The sound of buzzing grew louder, as the plane got closer and closer, barreling towards him on a line.

"Kaoru, get down!" Keitaro pleaded.

"Wait for it, wait for it," Kaoru whispered, as the plane got larger and larger in his eyes. "Now!" He forced himself to go down into a crouch as fast as he could. The plane went right over Kaoru's head, and tried to get up in the air, but skidded along the sidewalk. It exploded in a bright blaze after a few seconds, causing drivers to slow down and look out their windows.

Haruka and Kaoru let out sighs.

"Are you okay, Kaoru?" He gave Keitaro a nod. "What were you two doing?"

"Actually, we were on our way looking for you guys," Haruka replied.

"You were looking for us?" he asked.

"Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, we're fine," he replied, glancing at Naru.

"What are you guys doing here?" Kaoru asked.

"Oh, nothing," answered Naru, "we just needed a little air. A little break from studying." She looked from Kaoru to Haruka. "Anything happen? What did you need to see us for?"

Still on the ground, Haruka went into a pocket in her apron and retrieved a creased piece of paper, giving it to Keitaro. "I heard back from Hina a little while ago, and got some…interesting news." She offered the piece of paper to them. Looking at Haruka, and then looking at the paper, Keitaro raised a hand to accept it. "It's good news, I guess, at least for you, Naru. However, I'm not sure what to make of it."

Having finished reading the fax, he had a dumbfounded look on his face. "She wants me to…Grandma Hina wants me to be manager?"

"Yeah," his aunt replied. Naru looked over Keitaro's shoulder, and, having finished reading the fax, had a similar look on her face.

"I…I can stay?" Naru asked.

---

Author's Notes:

Azure – I was looking for a particular blue color when I thought of a bench color, so, yes, I am referencing a source. I looked up a list of colors that was on Wikipedia, and went to 'Azure.' This may be one of the most unappetizing author's notes ever.

**Update – 8/26/09: **(Sigh) I don't want to do this, but I feel that I have to do this (and want to as well, although that sort of contradicts the first part of that opening sentence); I think I will edit this chapter so that it will be Keitaro, not Naru, managing Hinata.

I didn't give second thoughts as to why Naru would be considered as manager of Hinata by Hina, as I thought that there could be some fun things done with Naru and managerial duties. But there doesn't seem to be a good enough reason for Hina to make Naru manager. I did give Hina a reason as to why she hired Naru as manager while I was typing up the beginnings of Ch. 4, but it didn't feel good enough (it's not an unbelievable reason; still, it felt kind of "eh"-ish). So, as I said, I think this chapter will be altered (but only the manager stuff).

**Here's some kind of bad news**, if there were readers out there who fancied this fanfic; I'll be going back to college at the end of August. So don't be surprised if there are minimal updates on this story from the end of August until, worst case scenario (if I don't update _anything_ at all after college starts), after spring semester. Well, actually, it seems unlikely that I won't add a _single_ chapter from the end of August to the beginning of summer next year, so that _really_ is a worst case scenario. Basically, I probably won't be able to add a new chapter every one to two weeks while at college.

Sorry, readers. I'll try my best, which can be pitiful at times, and update when I have some down time.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter end date: 1/19/10

Author's Notes:

-References --- _Love Hina_ manga (Of course, as I have said in a disclaimer in the first chapter of this story, I do not own _Love Hina_.)

Wow, it sure has been awhile. Sorry I haven't been updating in forever. You know, I've realized that I'm going about this fanfic in a wrong way, in that, time goes very slowly in it (it's Chapter 4, and it's still Naru's first day at the inn) and that I'll have to write a lot of chapters to continue this way.

Well, I will continue to write at this pace. …The pace of time _inside_ the fanfic, not my actual pace of spitting out chapters, unfortunately. This is because I think it serves the story well enough so far, and it might ruin whatever special zest this fanfic holds for you readers. However, sometimes, I'll probably jump ahead in time to specific days, like holidays, for instance, in the fanfic.

Also, I go back to school Monday, so…yeah. I should really put aside some time each day (or something like that) to devote to this fanfic, but I don't know.

Anyways, enjoy.

---

Chapter 4: Reflecting on the Day

---

Makoto observed the blade of his katana in his hand, the gleam and shine giving him a sense of comfort. Years of training had made it one of his prized possessions in life, and he always wielded it with pride and honor in mind.

_Now someone else has had their hands on my katana,_ he thought to himself. He imagined Naru holding out the blade in front of him, as she did when she first arrived at the inn and met the residents. The image lingered in his mind, and appealed to him. As he realized that he was thinking of her, Makoto saw his reflection on the blade. He slid the katana back into its sheath and placed it back in its usual place on the rack.

Sitting down in his room, in a meditative pose, Makoto shook off this image, and went back to reflecting on the day's events. Everything had been the same, as usual.

…_Except for that new resident, Naru Narusegawa. A female._

He lost focus in his meditation, as his thoughts wandered. Makoto tried to achieve a state of mediation again, but kept thinking about Naru for some reason.

_It was interesting, to see her wield my katana. Still, she should've asked before handling something as dangerous as that. She could've hurt someone. _Makoto thought back to earlier in the day, when he saw Mitsune flying into the lounge area, courtesy of Naru. _She _has_ hurt others, I suppose._ _And that's without my katana. Does she have training in hand-to-hand combat? Combative skills to go along with her outward appearance?…_

Deciding to end his meditation for the night, he got up and left his room to patrol the grounds before going to sleep. Makoto looked to Kaoru's door as he closed his own, wondering if Kaoru was back from the tea shop. Although he couldn't hear anything inside Kaoru's room from the hallway, he knew that didn't mean that Kaoru was not in there; he remembered one time when he entered Kaoru's room, assuming that Kaoru was not there. Unfortunately, he was, and mistook Makoto for an intruder. Blindsided, he had his jaw broken thanks to Kaoru's flying kick.

Makoto grimaced at the unpleasant thought, his jaw flinching involuntarily, and decided not to see if Kaoru was in. He continued along the hallway to the staircase, going down to the lobby. However, before passing through the second floor hallway briefly to keep going downstairs, he noticed Kaoru walking there towards him.

"Kaoru!" Makoto exclaimed, striding to meet him in the middle of the hallway.

"Hey, Makoto!"

"What are you doing here? You should be at Haruka's."

"I was," Kaoru replied, "but something came up."

"What?"

"Some big news." Kaoru's arms flew open wide to illustrate. "I don't know if I should tell you yet. It just happened."

"Well, unless it endangers any of us," Makoto reasoned, "I do not see the harm in it. If anything, that would be the type of information to let me know about."

Kaoru shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, then. Here it comes." He paused a moment. "Keitaro has been made manager of our dormitory." He waited a moment or two for Makoto's response, as he paused as well.

"…Hmmm." Makoto looked down the hallway past Kaoru, as if he could see Keitaro just now, standing there. "How did this happen? Did Haruka decide this?"

Kaoru shook his head. "She got a fax from Hina."

"Hina decided this? I guess it makes sense, as she and Keitaro are related."

"I guess so," supposed Kaoru, as he walked past him. Makoto stayed where he was, wondering if Keitaro was now in his room in the third floor. Even more so, he wondered the same about Naru, who was in the manager's room, a little further down the hall.

"Kaoru, where are Keitaro and Naru?" he asked, turning to him. While he spoke, Makoto failed to notice a rush of footsteps sounding on the floor, as Kaoru ran behind him and leaped onto his back.

"Bedtime," Kaoru voiced. Although he didn't receive an answer to his question, and wanted to talk to Naru, Makoto shifted his thoughts to sleep at Kaoru's words, feeling a little tired himself.

_Well, it can always wait until tomorrow_, Makoto thought, walking back to the stairs with Kaoru on his shoulders.

"You should do that less often," Makoto remarked.

"What?"

"Running behind people and jumping on their backs."

"Why?"

"You could hurt someone."

Kaoru chuckled. "Maybe. I could never hurt you, though, right?"

Makoto smirked. "You already have."

"What?" gasped Kaoru, leaning his head beside Makoto's. "What are you talking about?"

"My jaw."

"Oh!" Kaoru remembered, pulling his head back and looking up at the ceiling in thought.

"K-Kaoru," Makoto managed to squeak out, as Kaoru's arms tugged hard around his neck and Kaoru shifted all his weight backwards a little too quickly…

---

Mitsune overheard all this in his room, which was along the very same hallway that Makoto and Kaoru were leaving, but he did not care about this conversation. However, he did roll his eyes as he heard their bodies thud to the floor, and Kaoru cry out in pain. Instead, he kept his concentration on the conversation going on in the room beside his, in Naru's. Seated at his low table, Mitsune felt like compiling a pros-and-cons list, considering the big news he just heard. Unfortunately, this seemed like a difficult task in itself. Various things were strewn all over his room, on the floor: newspapers; cans and bottles, most of them previously full of alcohol; fast-food wrappings and boxes; and articles of clothing, mostly used. He had the day's paper in front of him, but could not find something to write with.

"Hmmm…" he hummed, leaning back on his hands. "A pencil…" He rocked his head back and gazed at the ceiling. Reaching for his recently-opened cold bottle of beer, Mitsune noticed that it felt different, lighter and without condensation. Instantly, he widened his eyes, as he realized that he was taking a swig from his "pencil holder." His mouth contorted, as his lips wrapped around his pencil, and he hacked it out, sending the pencil just beyond the low table. He coughed a little more as he put the now-empty bottle next to his cold one. "I've got to remember where I keep my pencils…" he croaked, crawling to get his pencil.

_I should turn the light on more often,_ Mitsune also thought, noting how dim he had his room.

Back at his table, Mitsune began to write. "Best friend will be manager," he scribbled on the "pros" side. After thinking about it for a second, he gave a sad smirk as he wrote the same thing on the "cons" side; how would he be able to get by on rent, with his only source of funds being the manager? On second thought, he shook his head, and scratched out both entries with a single line. Out of the blue, he was able to hear Naru's voice. Smiling warmly once he recognized it, he wrote "Naru staying" in the "pros" column.

---Meanwhile…---

"So, you're really going to do this?" Naru asked. Keitaro leaned down to pick up his notebook and textbook off Naru's low table, pencil and eraser already in hand.

"If my grandma wants me to…" he replied.

"Still, it sounds like a big responsibility."

"Yeah, I know," Keitaro said, nodding. Then, he realized something. "Wait, do you think I'd get paid?"

Naru gave a puzzled look, and mouthed, "What?"

"What? I mean…" He looked away in thought. "Technically, it's a job, right?" She shrugged her shoulders, as if to say, _I guess_. "Then again, maybe my grandma just wants to give me responsibility, take over for Aunt Haruka. I'll still need her help, though. Both my grandma and my aunt." Naru nodded, walking over to her low table and taking a seat while he stood there. "Say, did you find any manager-related stuff, any papers in the drawers while you were packing stuff away?"

"No, I didn't really look around," she replied.

"That's okay."

"That's right," remembered Naru. "This is the manager's room, right?"

"Yeah."

"Did you…maybe…want the room? Since you're manager?"

---

Somewhere in the Hinata Inn, a pencil snapped in two.

---

"Oh, don't-" A knock sounded near the door, interrupting Keitaro.

"Uh, who is it?" asked Naru.

"It's Mitsune. Can I come in?"

"Sure, I guess." Mitsune slid the door open, flashing a smile to Keitaro and then Naru. "Is something wrong?"

"A small problem," Mitsune replied as he held out his palm and showed them his broken pencil. "I broke my pencil, and was just wondering if you had an extra one that I could borrow."

"I've got a pencil right here, Mitsune," Keitaro offered. Mitsune felt a sweat drop behind his head, for once not wanting Keitaro's generosity.

"Thanks, buddy," he replied, reaching out to it. After having it in his hand, Mitsune tightened his grip as he brought it back close to his body, snapping it.

"Oh," Keitaro breathed out, frowning in disbelief. _He…broke my pencil. Sheesh, that was quick, even for Mitsune._

"My goodness, what is wrong with me?" Mitsune asked. "I'm so sorry, Keitaro."

"Right." He took back his pencil.

"Naru," Mitsune began, "do you have a pencil I could borrow?"

"Borrow?..." she asked, "or break?" She shielded her pencil from Mitsune as if it were her baby, and gave him a skeptical face. Seeing this, Mitsune opened his eyes wider so that Naru could see them more clearly. She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"How could you suggest such a thing?" Mitsune looked heartbroken. "That I could break your pencil?" Naru rolled her eyes.

"Relax." She gave Mitsune her pencil. "Here."

"Thank you, Naru. You're a lifesaver."

"Uh-huh."

"So, what were you guys talking about?"

"Ummm…" said Keitaro, "Oh. Some interesting news."

"What?" Mitsune asked. "Come on. Spill the beans, buddy."

"Well, Grandma Hina sent a fax over to Haruka tonight. She wants me to take over as manager of the dorms here, and she wants Naru to stay here."

"Hey! Wow!" Mitsune exclaimed, looking at Naru. "That's great news. I'm really happy."

"Yeah, I bet." She gave him a wary look.

"Okay, I don't know if I'd say that I'm _totally_ happy," Mitsune elaborated. He turned to Keitaro, and continued, pointing at him: "The news about you, specifically, worries me. And saddens me as well."

"Aw. Thanks, Mitsune," Keitaro said sarcastically. "That's really nice of you."

"Seriously, aren't you all focused on your studying? Those entrance exams?"

The thought did not occur to Keitaro as he replied, "…Yeah."

"Won't managing Hinata cut into all that?" Mitsune asked.

"I guess."

"I don't mean to bring up anything like that," Mitsune said. "There's something more important than that."

"What?" Keitaro asked. Mitsune paused a moment after Keitaro spoke, and started walking to him. He stopped as he got close to him, right in front of his face. Keitaro leaned back slightly, groaning and twisting his head away from him. "Ugh, the smell is of beer."

"Does this mean," Mitsune whispered into his ear, "…does this mean that I'm going to see less of your aunt?" Keitaro narrowed his eyes.

"What are you trying to say, Mitsune?" asked a suddenly menacing-looking Keitaro. Mitsune saw this and backed away immediately, laughing nervously.

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!" he replied with an uneasy smile.

"Good." Keitaro turned to Naru. "What were we talking about again? I forget."

Naru shrugged her shoulders. "I forget, too."

_Whew_, Mitsune thought. _Close one._

"Oh, right," Naru chirped. "Did you want this room, since you're the manager now?"

_Damn_.

"Oh, yeah." Keitaro shook his head. "No, of course not."

_Yes!_

"You sure?"

"Yeah, definitely. I mean, all your stuff is already here. I've already lived here for a little while, so it would be weird to move into another room, and then I'd have to set up my room and all that stuff."

"Exactly," Mitsune concurred. "You are right, Keitaro. You are such a gentleman."

"Uh-huh. You can just stay here, and I'll…stay where I am."

"Okay," agreed Naru.

"It's getting late, so I'm heading to bed," Keitaro said, spying the clock on the floor. "Good night, Naru."

"Good night."

"Good night, buddy!" Mitsune echoed to Keitaro. He left without reply, closing the door behind him. Naru gave Mitsune a puzzled look. "Ah, don't worry about that. It'll be fine tomorrow."

"What did you say to him?" she asked softly, with eavesdroppers on her mind.

"Oh, I just asked if him being manager would mean seeing less of Haruka around at the inn," he whispered back.

"Is she a friend of yours?"

"Yeah, she is. I just think that Haruka was doing a fine job running things around here. She knows what she's doing. She's a good person."

"All right. Well, I'm sure Keitaro is, too."

"Oh, I know," he said, nodding his head. "But, like I said, she's a good person. And…she looks good. She looks really fit. …She's cool, too, with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth, her apron. How does she pull off that short hair look? I mean, she looks amazing with that hairstyle."

"Too much information," Naru added.

"She has very nice taste in swimwear as well," he murmured, with a distant look in his eyes. Seeing this, she growled in disbelief.

"Okay. That's enough, you pervert." She pointed to the door. "Time to leave." He did not seem to hear her, still lost in his memories.

"It was…" Mitsune continued, "…a two-piece. Dark red." He had not noticed that, by this time, Naru had gotten up and walked up to him, waiting at his side, annoyed. "She's definitely fit..." He returned to the present and looked at where Naru was. "Sorry about that." Flashing a smile, Mitsune then decided to look at Naru's body for some reason. Naru started to shake, and lowered her gaze. "I think you would look good in green," he commented with a hand on his chin, looking up at her suddenly pull back her right arm.

"You pervert!" she growled. He widened his eyes, and then shut them tightly, covering his face with raised arms.

"No, I'm not!" he exclaimed, still frozen in his defensive pose. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes, as he was not hurtling through the door yet at high speed. Mitsune lowered his hands slightly and turned his head to Naru. That was when she punched him, sending her fist into his right shoulder. Fortunately for Mitsune, she did not send him flying. "Ow," he blurted out belatedly, as she walked past him toward her door.

"I can't start another problem while it's still my first day here." She slid open the door and looked back at him. "Or put another hole in the wall."

"Well, I was…just reminiscing, and imagining how beautiful women wear bikinis," he offered while rubbing his throbbing arm.

"Well, _pervert_, if you don't want me to hit you anymore, then you'll stop thinking about such things." She stepped back to allow him room to leave as he reached the door.

"But…" he confessed, standing at the door opening and frowning in front of her, "…it's so easy." At that, Naru punched away at his left shoulder. "Ow!" Mitsune staggered backwards, and Naru slid the door in his face. "Aw, come on. I'm sorry, Naru."

"Good night, pervert."

"Heh heh. No, Naru; that's wrong. My name is Mitsune. Mit-su-ne."

"Good night, per-vert," she repeated, mockingly mimicking his pronunciation. He rubbed his sore shoulders, as if he were cold, with crossed arms. He sighed.

"Good night," Mitsune said, walking to his room. Finally left alone at the end of the day, Naru turned back to the rest of her room and trudged over to take a seat at her low table. She sighed into her hands, spreading her fingers slightly to gaze at her textbook and notebook. Resting her hands on top of her books, she closed them up for the night and settled them into her unzipped backpack, which was leaning against a table leg. She picked up the cable car schedule pamphlet in her backpack and looked through it one more time.

_With all the weird things happening today, I haven't even thought about the prep school…_

Looking at the 8:30 time slot she aimed for, Naru folded the pamphlet back up again and slid it back into the backpack, in front of her books.

_I hope it won't be boring…_

She set the alarm on her clock an hour before the scheduled bus time, and hesitated, wanting to change into more comfortable nightwear and glancing at the door, which did not have a lock on it. Despite the chance of being peeped on, Naru changed into her pajamas as quickly as she could without tripping over herself, and turned off the lights before settling into her futon. She looked on peacefully at the ceiling.

_A hole…_ she realized, noticing it plainly in her sight. _In the ceiling._ Annoyed, Naru turned on her side, away from the door, and towards the open walkway, which allowed a view of the night sky with a very small scatter of stars high above. The day's events floated back to her as she took in the slight breeze, causing her to smirk at how weird the whole day was.

_Well, maybe 'boring' isn't so bad_, she thought. _It's been a while since I've experienced a day like today…_

---

Mitsune shifted in his futon to get more comfortable. He thought about the day's events as he played with a corner of his pillow.

_She sure is something…_ he thought. Immediately, the image of her bare backside came to mind. He looked up the moist curve in her back, leading up to her shining shoulders and pink-tinged neck and cheekbone. Holding her white towel to her chest, she is looking back at him sideways, with her back still facing him. The tinge of pink finds its way to her cheek, and turns red. She bites her bottom lip. She drops the towel.

"Ow." To his surprise, his bruised arms started acting up again. He rolled over on his back to take pressure off his shoulder.

_I guess I'll see you in the morning, Naru_, Mitsune thought as he put his hands behind his head. _I'm glad you're staying._


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Notes:

-6/17/10-This is something I should've done awhile ago, when I decided to start this fanfic. Basically, the idea for this fanfic was to keep the overall feeling and direction of the _Love Hina_ manga/anime (which I do not own), but to have Naru be the main character instead of Keitaro, and have the rest of the Hinata residents be male instead of female.

However, I have to confess something: this idea was not **entirely** my idea. The idea for this fanfic was inspired by another fanfic, Allen Ramsey's _Love Hina: All Girls Dorm Edition_, which some of you may have read.

To be absolutely clear, I did not plagiarize any of Ramsey's material, and I'm certain that the idea for my fanfic is different enough from Ramsey's idea that I could not be accused of taking his idea, either.

Actually, after reading all this, you readers are probably thinking "Oh. Well then, indifferentshadow, don't sweat it; you really haven't done anything wrong or illegal. At all." I'm sure that this is the case too, which is why I didn't think to mention that I decided to write on a variation of Ramsey's idea. However, it's something that I've thought of every, long once-in-a-while. So, I've decided to say that I came up with the idea for my fanfic, from Ramsey's fanfic.

Ramsey: If you, somehow, feel that I've done something wrong (I kind of doubt it), then I am very sorry for it.

So…basically…there's nothing really to get worried about, I suppose. I don't think I've done anything wrong. However, I'm not sure if I'll change the fanfic description, so that I note this fanfic's inspiration.

In other news, I think I might change the rating for this fanfic because, really, I'm not getting into anything extremely mature…yet. However, since I might do so in the future, I'm a bit on the fence here. So…I'll keep you posted (maybe). ...No promises.

Chapter 5: First Day at Tutor School

Light raindrops were falling outside under a gray, cloudy skyline, making the start of the day seem a little downbeat. Shinobu thought of, as many might, the sun shining in a cloudless sky, but it didn't matter.

_Oh well._ _ Today's still a big day._

The skillet sizzled as Shinobu poured in the egg mixture from the bowl. He stood at the stove, tending to the scrambled eggs.

-_Yawn_-

Shinobu turned his head.

"Good morning," said Naru. Besides her warm smile, she wore a blue sundress, while resting a hand on her hip.

"Morning, Naru," he said as he turned off the stove and slid the eggs on two plates, which already had a slice of toast and hash browns on them.

"Are you ready?" she asked, standing near the dining table. He was silent as he brought the plates.

"Yes," he replied, sitting down in front of a plate. "I'm ready." Naru scoffed, causing Shinobu to look up in confusion.

"Failed to pull chair out for date," she stated, pulling the chair out herself before marking a piece of paper on her clipboard and taking a seat.

"Oh, I forgot!"

"Everyone makes mistakes sometimes," she said while donning her glasses. "Okay, here's an easy one: 'Compliment the date.'"

"Ummm…" He looked at her and blushed, and she gave him a bored look. "You look…n-nice today."

"Very good." She made a check on her clipboard as he smiled sheepishly and looked away. A couple of seconds passed as they sat there. Then, a few more seconds passed. …And then, a couple more passed by in awkward silence.

_Why isn't she eating?_ he asked himself. Naru only frowned at him.

"Failed to engage date in conversation," Naru said with a sigh, scribbling some notes.

"No, wait!" Shinobu yelped. "W-where did you get that dress?"

"Too late." She sighed again and put aside her clipboard and pen. "Whatever, let's just eat."

"Okay." They picked up their forks, each taking a bite of their eggs.

"Hmmm…" Naru scrunched up her forehead as she swallowed.

"What is it?" he asked. "Is something wrong with the food?" Naru nodded, noticeably getting more and more annoyed.

"The eggs are overcooked," she replied, "and the presentation of these hash browns…" She poked at them, before putting some on her fork. "…is amateur." Shocked at her strange attitude, Shinobu sunk into his chair.

"What are you talking about?"

"These hash browns are over-salted," she continued, putting down her fork. "I should know; I have a passion for food, and plan on majoring in Food Criticism." After scribbling some more notes, Naru unclipped the piece of paper and got up from her seat, standing by Shinobu's side.

"I thought…" he began, his voice quivering, "I thought you liked my food."

"Ha, well, I can't say something so harsh in front of your friends. Especially if it's the truth."

"I thought…you liked me." Seeing him teary-eyed, Naru arched her eyebrows in concern and knelt to meet his lowered gaze.

"Shinobu," she cooed. She placed her forearms on his thigh and looked into his eyes. "Why would I ever like you?" At that moment, the only thing Shinobu could do was look back at her. Then, he bit his lip as he blinked away a couple tears. "Don't you want to answer the question?"

_Shut up._

"Don't you want to defend yourself?"

"Shut up!" He lunged at Naru, his arms shot out as he aimed at her throat. His hands shook as they came within a couple of inches, but they didn't get any closer. Naru had grabbed his wrists.

"Let me answer for you, sweetie. I would never like you." She chuckled as he sat there helplessly. "Look how weak you are. You can't even lay a finger on me." Sighing, she forced his hands into his lap. "Look, your emotions are getting the better of you." She let go of his wrists. "You have to remember, Shinobu; we aren't friends, or anything like that. This is a professional relationship. You have to be professional. Now, remember, I'm your dating instructor…" He gave her a weary look. "…and you're the student." She shook her head in disapproval as she gazed at the testing form.

"Hey, what's taking so long?" a voice whined, out of sight.

"Please be patient, sir," Naru snapped back. "Well, Shinobu, your test is over. You scored poorly in almost every area. Let's face it, Shinobu; you're never going to be a good boyfriend."

"O-okay," he whispered.

"Say, do you see that button on the side of your armrest?" Looking at his right hand, Shinobu could see a flat, white circle the size of a dime. "Could you push that, please?"

"Okay." He pushed it, and heard a click. As he gave Naru a confused look, he noticed that he was getting closer to the floor. When he looked down, he saw only black where the floor was.

"Thank you, and have a nice day!" she chimed, waving at the open trapdoor where Shinobu was sitting, as his shrieks got quieter and quieter-

-Morning-

Shinobu opened his eyes, slightly and slowly, as he quietly awoke. As he turned to his side to tap the alarm clock off, he could see the faint glow of the morning sun against the doors.

_Weird dream_. He stayed in his futon, his body not yet ready to get up. _I'm already starting to forget_. Staring blankly ahead, he tried to remember what he could. _Naru_. _You were in my dream_. He shifted unconsciously. _That's right._ Shinobu raised his eyes towards the clock. Four minutes had passed by since his alarm went off; it was now 7:04. _I wonder what we were doing?_ He stared at the clock for a few more moments, before feeling ready to get up. Scrunching up his legs, he brought his knees closer to his chest as he sat up. _Maybe…we were out on a date_¸ he supposed, the thought bringing a small blush and smile to his face. At the same time, it caused him to roll his eyes and shake his head. _I think I'm still dreaming…_he added in a self-deprecating manner.

As Shinobu made his way to the stairs, he paused near the window at the top of the stairs before going down to the kitchen area. It was a picturesque day, with the sun out in the clear, the sky a pale purple without clouds.

_What should I make?_ he asked himself, standing in front of the stovetop. He donned an apron over his school uniform, which consisted of dark blue khakis and a short-sleeved white dress shirt. _Maybe…something different. Something…Western. Wait._ He turned to the refrigerator. _Scrambled eggs!_

-_Yawn_-

Shinobu turned his head.

"Morning," mumbled Mitsune. He had on a pair of sweatpants and an undershirt, and scratched his head as he stood in the kitchen area near the refrigerator.

"Morning, Mitsune," Shinobu returned, as he took the milk jug and margarine out.

"What are we eating?"

"Well, I was thinking of scrambled eggs…"

"Fantastic…" He nodded his head in approval while waiting for him to continue. Instead, Shinobu shrugged his shoulders.

"That's all I have so far." Upon hearing this, Mitsune widened his eyes and cocked his head to his left, giving Shinobu a questioning look.

"What?"

"We have some…bread," Shinobu suggested, pointing to the loaf sitting behind him on the counter.

"So, now we have toast," Mitsune said as he gestured toward the bread. "We can have some nice, warm toast…with some butter. Oh, and some jam."

"Maybe even French toast."

"Oh, wow. I didn't even think of that. Forget jam and butter, then." He yawned again, putting a hand to his mouth. "Oof. So we've got scrambled eggs, French toast. Sausages, bacon…"

"Uh, Mitsune…"

"-Hashbrowns, pancakes, bagels, waffles. Maybe even some fruit, and then some orange juice and milk to wash all that down."

"Sorry, but we don't have all that," he said to Mitsune. "We'll just have to make do with eggs, toast, and some fruit." Mitsune frowned as he gave up.

"Maybe next time," he conceded, as Shinobu took out all the eggs from the refrigerator's clear and plastic egg holder.

"And I'll have to make something more traditional for Makoto." At this, Mitsune scoffed.

"Forget that; he needs to get his head out of the past, and into the present. We're living in a global world." Slightly amused, the young chef took out some bowls and a large skillet from the cabinets while listening. "Makoto has to get more…tuned in…with other cultures, and modern society. And what better way to do this than through food?" Shinobu couldn't help but shake his head and smile a little as he looked back at Mitsune. Then, he dropped that smile as he observed Makoto walking softly behind Mitsune, just a few feet away from him. He held a look of contempt on his face, and an unsheathed katana in his right hand, with the sheath in his left.

"Mitsune," Shinobu exclaimed.

"No," Mitsune said firmly, raising his index finger for emphasis. "I do not have to tolerate this. You tell Makoto that it's my way…or the highway. …And if it's the highway, I will gladly run him over. With my car." He stifled some laughter. "That is, if I had a car," he added sadly.

"Oh," Shinobu moaned disappointingly, covering his eyes.

"Blehk!" Mitsune let out, the cool steel pressing against his neck.

"What was that, Mitsune?" Makoto asked softly. "A threat?"

"What?" croaked Mitsune. "Of course not. I would never do that."

"I think you're lying to me."

"I wouldn't do that, either." Narrowing his eyes, Makoto raised and turned the blade slightly. The edge scraped along Mitsune's Adams apple. Mitsune whimpered.

"If you can't keep to your word, what value does your life have?" After asking this, he withdrew the blade and sheathed his katana. Mitsune dropped to the floor, perspiring. "Shinobu, I'd love to have some of that soup leftover from last night with a bowl of rice for breakfast."

"Of course," he replied, as Makoto left the kitchen. Looking down at Mitsune with concern, Shinobu waited for a few seconds while Mitsune composed himself and slowly got to his feet. "Jeez…"

"Don't worry about me," Mitsune rasped, forcing a smile. "I'll be all right after some nice, warm breakfast."

"Well, I usually don't." The smile disappeared.

"Oh," Mitsune said gloomily.

"Only because this always happens," Shinobu explained. Mitsune shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "You should really stop talking about Makoto that way."

"He shouldn't put his…damn katana up to my neck like that; he could've killed me. _I_ should call the police."

"Aw, don't do that, Mitsune."

"Well…" He paused, looking away towards the dining room. "We'll see." With that, he walked off to the lobby area. "Morning, Naru," he added, away from Shinobu's view. Hearing this, Shinobu hurriedly turned around and started cracking eggs. As he did this, he also heard the slight sticking of bare feet on the floor coming closer to him. Then, it stopped. Shinobu turned his head.

"Morning," Naru voiced softly. She tugged slightly on the collar of her light blue t-shirt before resting her hands into the pockets of her dark gray sweatpants.

"Hey." He leaned against the countertop.

"Are you…making breakfast for everyone?" she asked, peering at the bowls curiously.

"Yeah. Yes, I am." Naru nodded matter-of-factly. "Um, I usually cook for everyone, although we all take turns. So, you don't have to worry; I take care of all the cooking and laundry."

"Laundry too?"

"Mmmhmm," he replied. "Well…heh…maybe not _your_ laundry." Hearing this, she blushed slightly and gave a nervous smile, making him panic. "Uh, I mean, I just don't have any experience with bras and panties."

"Of course."

"Wait, no! Of course, I have a little experience. I know what a bra looks like."

"…Okay." She glanced away from Shinobu's red face. "We can figure all that out later."

"Sorry."

"It's okay," she offered, going to the dining room. "I'll see you at the table." With Naru gone, Shinobu took a whisk out of a nearby drawer, sighing as he mixed the eggs.

-After breakfast…-

"Thanks a lot, Shinobu," Mitsune said, resting his fork on the plate. "So, Naru, what are your plans today?"

"Well pervert, I'm going to school." He slowly shook his head.

"That's…not my name. That's not me."

"Are you coming with us, Naru?" Kaoru asked. Sitting beside Shinobu, he locked his arm around Shinobu's neck. This caused Shinobu to flinch away, especially from the fork in Kaoru's hand that ended up an inch from his eyes.

"No, I'm going to this prep school. Jah-jah-moh."

"Oh, that's where I go," Keitaro said. Mitsune looked at him, and then Naru, as he realized what they were saying. "Were you going to catch the 8:30 cable car?"

"Yeah," she replied, with a surprised smile.

"Well, I guess we better hurry up," he said, looking at the wall clock in the dining room.

"Oh, you're right. Thanks for breakfast, Shinobu." Naru quickly got up and left for her room, and Keitaro followed suit.

-Outside…-

"Bye-bye!" Kaoru called out from the sidewalk, waving his arms about. Shinobu also gave a little wave as they left for school.

"Bye," Naru returned.

"See you later," added Keitaro.

"C'mon, you guys, skip school!" Mitsune yelled. "Join us." Keitaro and Naru simultaneously turned their heads toward him, a little annoyed.

"Why are you coming with us?" Keitaro asked Mitsune.

"I was…interested…in what prep school was like."

"That's a lie," Keitaro, Naru, and Makoto all chimed at once. Looking at Makoto, Mitsune made a shooing motion with his hand.

"Don't wanna be late, Makoto." As Makoto walked away from them, he gave Mitsune a wary glare. "He's so dangerous," Mitsune added softly while the red cable car rolled to a stop in front of them. Mitsune gestured towards the open car door. "Ladies first."

"Said the pervert," Naru teased, looking back at him and stepping aboard.

"She's just kidding," Mitsune assured Keitaro. He gave Mitsune a concerned look as they both boarded and the car started moving. Entering, they found it mostly occupied with people in business attire and others heading off to school. All the seats were filled, so they stood by the rings and poles. Naru reached for a ring, while Mitsune and Keitaro shared a pole.

"How long does it take to get there?" Mitsune asked.

"About fifteen minutes," Keitaro answered. For a minute, they took in their surroundings, glancing at fellow commuters, as well as pedestrians and cars passing by. "Ready for the prep exam?"

"I can't remember the last time _I_ was ready for an exam," Mitsune replied frankly.

"Um, I was asking Naru," Keitaro clarified. Mitsune shrugged his shoulders.

"I know." Keitaro looked annoyed, and then curious, noticing Naru flipping through flashcards on a ring.

"I think I'll be okay," she replied, looking up at him. "What about you?"

"I don't know. I don't have flashcards, that's for sure."

"They're a good way to study. You should use them."

"I guess." Keitaro smiled slightly and passed the time by looking around again. She returned his smile politely, and then looked at Mitsune. He was looking ahead indifferently, following the cable car's path. Noticing her gaze, he smiled, too. Naru duly noted it, and went back to her cards, as they got silent again. A teenager answered her cell phone, conversing pleasantly. Sitting beside her, a graying businessman flipped to the next page of his newspaper, while secretly eyeing her with displeasure.

"Hey, Mitsune," Naru began. He looked back at her, wondering what she wanted.

"What's up?"

"What do you do?" she asked.

"What?"

"What do you do for a living?" she explained. "Are you still in school somewhere?" He reached behind his head and rubbed his neck, looking away.

"Um, well..." Mitsune paused, thinking carefully about what he'd say. A moment later, he had it. "I do exactly that," he replied. Keitaro and Naru looked at him in puzzlement. "I live," he tried to explain, smiling confidently. "I live my life." Keitaro looked off a ways, and nodded mockingly.

"So, you don't go to school? Do you even have a job?" Naru asked incredulously. Mitsune tried to find the right words, but Keitaro answered for him by shaking his head dramatically.

_Wow. He's not in school,_ and_ he doesn't work_, she thought to herself. Her head was lowered above her flashcards, but her eyes couldn't help but focus on Mitsune, glancing at his shoes. _What does he do with himself?_

_Well_, a voice in her head answered, _I guess he drinks, gambles, and peeps at women_. She remembered what she heard about Mitsune from Keitaro, in their first meeting. Thinking about all this, Naru turned away slightly from Mitsune with disdain, and a focused look washed over her face. _Don't think about that; just keep studying_.

"All right," Mitsune said, annoyed. "So I don't go to school, or work." He shrugged his shoulders. "Life's short. I don't want to spend my time studying something I'll never use, or working a nine-to-five job." He waved a finger in front of Naru's flashcards. "That's why you should forget about this whole entrance exam stuff, and do whatever you want."

"Well, _I_ want to study, so stop bothering me," she snapped, slapping away his hand. Mitsune frowned, and then sighed.

"The heart wants what the heart wants." With that, he turned to Keitaro. "Hey, buddy?"

"What?"

"Umm…do you think, at the school, you could buy me lunch this one time?" Keitaro sighed.

-At the school…-

"I can't believe that you're here, when you could be out looking for a job right now," Naru exclaimed as they walked down a crowded hallway.

"Oh, lighten up," Mitsune said. "I want to be here, so there's no need to be concerned."

"I'm not," she snapped.

"Hey. Keitaro," a voice called out, above the commotion of other students. He stopped where he was and looked back, with Mitsune and Naru following suit. About twenty feet away, a couple of faces started weaving and bobbing through the crowd, both with eyeglasses. The taller student made his way to Keitaro first, flashing an enthusiastic grin.

"Hey, Haitani," Keitaro said, waving his hand.

"What's this, you've got new friends?" the smaller student asked, having made his way behind his friend.

"Uh, not exactly," he answered, looking at Mitsune and Naru beside him. Keitaro pointed at Mitsune. "This is Mitsune Konno…" Hearing his name, Mitsune gave a polite nod.

"What's up, guys?"

"Mitsune, this is Haitani Masayuki, and this is Shirai Kimiaki."

"Nice to meet you," Mitsune added. Shifting their glances from Mitsune to Naru, Haitani and Shirai smirked at each other.

"Care to introduce us to your girlfriend?" Haitani asked Keitaro bluntly. Keitaro and Naru blushed slightly.

"Guys, she isn't my girlfriend," Keitaro clarified.

"Oh!" Haitani and Shirai both exclaimed mockingly. Keitaro sighed as his friends tried to stop themselves from cracking up.

"This is Naru Narusegawa," Keitaro said. In response, Haitani scoffed, while Shirai looked at Naru strangely.

"Yeah, right," Shirai muttered.

"What are you talking about?" Naru asked, confused. "That's my name. That's me."

"You're that nerd with the pigtail braids and huge eyeglasses? The girl who held the number one ranking for the last national prep exam?" Haitani asked in disbelief. As he heard this, Keitaro turned to Naru and gaped at her. Mitsune opened his eyes in surprise.

"Look," Shirai scoffed, pointing at Naru's face. "She's not wearing glasses, and she's wearing her hair down." Naru started to frown, realizing that she didn't look as she usually did in school.

_They should still recognize me,_ _if they've seen me before_, she thought to herself._ Morons. Do I look that different?_ She sighed. Reaching into the pocket of the dark gray hooded sweatshirt she was wearing, she opened her eyeglass case and took out her eyeglasses. Naru put them on, startling those around her with her change of appearance. Then, she completed the transformation as best as she could by raising her hands behind her head and forming makeshift pigtails with her hair.

"Is that better?" she asked.

"I didn't know that you wore glasses!" Keitaro exclaimed.

"Well, I had them on last night," she explained, "but I decided to take them off before you came into my room."

"What'd you guys do?" Haitani asked slyly. Naru glared at him.

"Nothing, you pervert!"

"I was overhearing these two last night," Mitsune said, "and it didn't sound like nothing to me." Naru and Keitaro dropped their jaws.

"Wow," Haitani breathed out.

"That's crazy, Keitaro" Shirai remarked. Furrowing her brow, Naru twitched, causing Haitani and Shirai to back away uneasily. "Well, anyway, it's really cool to meet someone as smart as you."

_And someone so sexy,_ they thought gleefully to themselves. Then, an electronic bell sounded throughout the hallway.

"We've got English first period, so we'll see you guys later," Haitani said, both he and Shirai turning away and hurrying through the crowd to get to the stairwell. Angry, Naru looked at Mitsune, noticing that he was grinning at her.

"Why did you say that?" she snarled, letting go of her hair and balling up her fists.

"You know, you really look nice in those glasses," Mitsune replied, making her step back in shock. Blushing madly, she looked away in frustration.

_Uh oh,_ Keitaro thought.

_He said…that I looked nice,_ Naru thought, her anger mixing with other emotions. _He said…that I did something with Keitaro…_ Realizing this part, she exploded, as her anger pushed her over the edge.

"You jerk!" she yelled, rearing back her right hand. Mitsune opened his eyes, and then closed them tightly, as her fist plowed its way into his cheek, sending him flying into other students at full force. "I'm going to first period," she muttered, pointing at Mitsune, who was now all the way at the end of the hallway, with nine other crumpled bodies, "and you better not follow me."

"S-sorry," Mitsune croaked, as the students underneath groaned out in pain and anger. Naru walked away swiftly to her designated classroom, while Keitaro hurriedly went to Mitsune's aid.

-Five minutes later…-

_Finally, some alone time…_Naru thought happily, resting her shoulder bag on the long table. It seemed like all the students were already here, sitting down at their designated spaces or reading through their study books and notebooks. There were many other long tables like the one that Naru sat at, reaching down a slightly-descending slope in three parallel rows. Naru routinely lifted up the top flap of her bag, releasing it from its plastic buckle, took out her pencil bag, and moved her shoulder bag under the table next to her feet. Looking to her right, she noticed two sets of feet coming into her aisle. Naru lifted her head back up over the table…and froze.

"All right, so my seat should be…Naru?" Keitaro exclaimed, standing there next to his seat. To his shock, it happened to be the one right next to Naru's.

"We have the same first period?" she asked incredulously.

"We sure do!" a voice chirped behind Keitaro. She looked anxiously behind him and, as she expected, found Mitsune. He had a huge bruise on his cheek and a small bandage on his forehead. Naru took off her glasses and buried her face into her cupped hands.

"This sure is weird," Keitaro commented, sitting down beside Naru.

"I think "horrible" is the word you're looking for."

"What are you so worried about?" Keitaro asked her. "I mean, you're the best test taker here, apparently. Besides, Mitsune was just joking earlier."

"Oh really?" Naru asked, taking the answer sheets from a teaching assistant walking by. She passed the remaining sheets onto Keitaro. "Did you really like what Mitsune did back there?"

"No…"

"Keitaro, do you have an extra pencil I can borrow?" Mitsune asked. Keitaro, and Naru, looked at him strangely. Ignoring their looks, Mitsune reached for Keitaro's pencil bag and fished a pencil out for himself. He also helped himself to one of Keitaro's answer sheets.

"I…don't think you can take the test with us…" Keitaro began.

"You're not even registered here!" Naru exclaimed in frustration.

"Why should that matter?" Mitsune asked. Another teaching assistant came by the right side, handing Mitsune the work packets. "Thanks." He left a packet and tossed the other two to Keitaro, as he and Naru gave Mitsune dumbfounded looks. Soon, the test instructor told everyone to fill out their answer sheets. After making sure everyone had done so, he announced that the students could begin their exams.

_I can't believe he's actually doing this…_Naru thought, grimacing as Mitsune gave her a thumbs-up before paying attention to the first problem. She shook her head. _Can't worry about that now. It's test time_.

"Good luck," Keitaro whispered, scattering her thoughts. She gave him a small smile.

"You too."


	6. Chapter 6: Testing

Chapter 6: Testing…

-At the prep school…-

Sighing softly, one of the teaching assistants turned around again, keeping her eye over all the students while walking gently back up the aisle. Most of the students had their heads down, with some of them glancing up at the center blackboard, one of three large ones that lined the front wall of the classroom, so that they could keep track of the written time. She looked over all of their faces, noting their determination and concentration. Smiling contently, she enjoyed hearing the soft scribbles of pencils on paper, overlaying against the ruffle of pages and rubbing of erasers. However, as she continued walking up the middle of the aisle, the teaching assistant noticed another noise, a sort of clicking. Her eyes wandered to one of the long tables in the middle of the classroom, where a young man was frantically pushing on the end of his mechanical pencil, willing some lead to come out. In annoyance, some students around him gave brief glances before returning to their work. A few moments later, the student to his right rolled his eyes, and finally got fed up.

"Will you stop that?" Mitsune muttered under his breath to Keitaro. "I'm trying to take a test!"

"Shhhh!" the teaching assistant hushed, walking up to the end of the table. She bent over next to him and placed one hand on the back of his chair, and the other on the table. "You have to be quiet." Mitsune raised his hands innocently.

"I'm so sorry, miss," he apologized softly, leaning towards her. "I just want us all to have a calm and positive testing environment, so that we can all do well on this test. As you know, our education is everything." The TA furrowed her brow.

"…Ok," she whispered, leaving Mitsune and Keitaro to their tests.

_Stupid pencil_, Keitaro thought, finally giving up on it. Putting it aside, he reached into his pencil bag for an old-fashioned, wooden pencil. _Oh well; that's why we have extras…_ He filled in the second bubble for the tenth question, and then read the eleventh. _That's easy._ Keitaro found the number eleven on his answer sheet, moving across to the third bubble. As he began to fill it in, however, the pointed lead gave way, snapping off the pencil tip. Frozen, Keitaro wheezed, as if he was breathing through an oxygen tank. Naru glanced over for a moment, widening her eyes at his misfortune.

_Sheesh…_she thought to herself. Panicking, Keitaro haphazardly chucked the pencil forward and searched through his pencil bag for another one.

"Ow!" a voice cried out.

"Who was that?" the test instructor called out, from the table at the front of the classroom. Judging from the other students' glances, he looked at the student who was responsible for the disruption. "Is something wrong?"

"I think someone just threw a pencil at me," the student replied, blushing.

"Uh, sorry," Keitaro said sheepishly. Everyone looked at him, making him chuckle nervously. "Slipped out of my hand…" Thinking quickly, the teaching assistant walked swiftly over to the pencil and picked it up, taking it back to its owner.

"All right, everyone," the test instructor said, peeking at his wristwatch. "Let's get back to the test. You now have seven minutes left." With that announcement, pencils scurried over answer sheets and booklets once again. Keitaro resumed his search and took out a second wooden pencil. To his dismay, he noticed that the pointed lead tip he expected was missing, probably somewhere in his pencil bag. Keitaro sighed.

_Is he out of pencils?_ Naru asked herself. He seemed to answer her question, by staring out into space, motionless. _Keitaro…_ Putting down her own pencil, she searched through her own pencil bag. Once she fished out a pencil for him, she looked down at her own work, trying to avoid looking as if she was cheating. Sliding the pencil to her right, Naru kept her downward gaze for a moment, before glancing at Keitaro. To her surprise, he was back filling in bubbles on his answer sheet, waving away Naru's hand. Puzzled, she looked past him, noticing that Mitsune was finished with his exam. He was leaned over the table, resting his head on top of his crossed forearms.

-School cafeteria-

"That was horrifying," Keitaro blurted out, collapsing onto a seat after resting his lunch at an empty table. He took off his shoulder bag as Naru sat opposite of him, while Mitsune sat next to him.

"Did you really have that much trouble with your pencils?" she asked.

"Didn't you hear him when he apologized for hitting that guy with his pencil?" Mitsune added. He shook his head softly, smiling in disbelief. "What the heck was that? You just chucked that pencil, like it was nothing. I mean, seriously, what the heck was that? Why would you do that?" Keitaro shrugged his shoulders, shoving some rice into his mouth with his chopsticks. With that, Mitsune broke out in laughter.

"I panicked," Keitaro mumbled.

"Look, don't worry about it," Naru said. "It's just practice."

"I guess." Picking at his grilled fish, Keitaro put a piece into his mouth. "But, seriously, this is the kind of thing that haunts me. It's that kind of bad luck that makes me fail the entrance exam twice."

"Don't give me that," she said. "Remember what you said last night?" Keitaro looked up at her. "When you were telling me about yourself?" He nodded. "You said that you were the kind of person who could do anything you set your mind to." Looking at her blankly, Keitaro remembered last night, when they were talking outside of Hinata."If you want something, you can have it. All it takes is effort, persistence…you know. That kind of thing."

"She's absolutely right, Keitaro," Mitsune added, his right hand reaching out and squeezing Keitaro's left. Turning to his left, Keitaro gave a smile of appreciation, and then gazed at the grasp that Mitsune's hand had on his.

"Why are you holding my hand?" Keitaro asked apprehensively, a bead of sweat forming at the back of his head. Naru looked on a bit perplexed, as well as amused.

"I'm giving you my support," Mitsune replied calmly. "I thought you might like it, if someone was there to hold your hand. Figuratively, and literally, speaking." Keitaro chuckled nervously.

"Well, it's making me uncomfortable, so…" Keitaro said hesitantly. Hearing this, Mitsune glared as he looked at Keitaro closely, making him blush a little.

"Fine," Mitsune grumbled, letting go of Keitaro's hand at last. Keitaro breathed a sigh of relief. "I will stop caressing your hand in a loving manner."

"Thank you."

"Oh, no," Mitsune exclaimed, "thank _you_, for being honest with yourself."

"All right, cut it out."

"What?" Mitsune asked. "Do you think that I wouldn't have done the same for Naru, if she started having a nervous breakdown, and decided to start throwing sharp objects for no apparent reason, in a classroom full of her fellow peers? Of course I would have, because I believe in supporting your friends, no matter what." Naru smiled, mostly because of the act that Mitsune was putting up. "Obviously, there's the chance of Naru mistaking my support for sexual harassment, so I might think twice about doing that."

"Right," Keitaro remarked, ignoring him while eating. All of a sudden, Mitsune put his right arm around Keitaro and leaned into him, putting his face right next to Keitaro's cheek. Keitaro froze in fear and disgust.

"If you didn't just buy me a free lunch right now," Mitsune snarled, his eyes open and his lips rubbing against Keitaro's face, "I'd give you two slaps in the face, for rejecting my support." Mitsune's scowl dug into Keitaro's cheek, much to the confusion of everyone in the cafeteria. Noticing that they were at the center of attention, Naru blushed. "So..." he continued, resting back in his chair. Keitaro rubbed some of the saliva off his cheek. "Since you got me a free meal, I'll just…" Mitsune paused, taking this moment to slap Keitaro in the cheek.

"Ow!"

"…Give you one slap," he finished.

"That's it!" Keitaro growled, reaching out to grab Mitsune. He eluded his grasp, falling out of his chair and running past other students.

"You're making a scene!" Mitsune tried to convince Keitaro, as he scurried past the cafeteria doors with Keitaro giving chase. Naru resumed eating, ignoring the students' looks by flipping through her flashcards again.

-Outside the school…late afternoon-

"Stop, stop!" Keitaro yelled at the red cable car. Seeing them, the conductor slowed, allowing the three of them to run inside. It was already very full in the car, so they all stood closely together.

"Today was pretty crazy," Mitsune remarked, holding onto a ring. "I'm beat." Keitaro ignored him, with Naru standing in between them. The cable car started moving again.

"Yeah, me too," Naru added.

"I can't wait to break open a cold one. Lie down on the floor, in my room. Look outside, enjoy the sights." He ran a hand through his hair, looking at the other passengers. "Naru, don't you think it's beautiful at Hinata?"

"Hmmm?" she said, looking up from her flashcards. Mitsune opened his eyes in surprise.

"Are you looking through your flashcards again?" Keitaro asked, amazed.

"The test's over," Mitsune exclaimed. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Got to be number one somehow." In response, Mitsune shook his head softly.

"You really are a nerd," he murmured.

"That's amazing," Keitaro commented. "I wish I was number one like that."

"Don't worry about it," Mitsune said. "You don't have to be ranked number one to get into Tokyo U. You just have to keep practicing." Keitaro gave him a steely look before observing his surroundings.

"Right."

"Keitaro…" Mitsune began, feeling badly. "Come on. I'm sorry." Keitaro shook his head in anger. "Look, I know I was acting like a clown, like I always do-"

"Yeah, because you get your kicks that way, by pissing me off. Getting under my skin."

"I was just trying to have some fun. I was fooling around."

"But we're at prep school," Keitaro snapped, "and this is really important to me." Somewhat embarrassed, Mitsune looked down.

"I know…"

"I really want to get into Tokyo U," Keitaro began, looking through the car windows, "because…" As he gazed upward, Mitsune noticed that Naru had dropped her flashcards, and that her head was still lowered.

_What the…_Mitsune thought. All of a sudden, Naru leaned forward, running into Mitsune's chest.

"Naru," he exclaimed, getting Keitaro's attention.

"What's wrong?" Keitaro asked.

"Oops," Naru whispered, struggling to look up, her eyelids heavy. "Sorry; I fell asleep there for a second." Making sure that Naru was awake, Mitsune bent down and picked up her flashcards, giving them to her. "Thanks," she said, putting them back into her shoulder bag.

"Did you get enough sleep last night?" Mitsune asked. She nodded.

"Yeah. I was just studying a lot, so...that's it. I'm just tired."

"Sheesh. You've got to relax, Naru. You can't study all day, every-" Mitsune stopped, being interrupted by Naru's head. "And now she's gone back to sleep." Keitaro reached out to nudge the back of her shoulder. Frowning, Naru leaned away from Keitaro, and closer to Mitsune.

"Just wake me up when we get back to the inn," she told them.

_I really am tired,_ Naru realized. Struggling between sleep and consciousness, she bobbed her head up again, looking in front of herself with dazed eyes. Her gaze crossed Mitsune's face, and he gave a comforting smile. _He's probably right; I should study less…_

_And socialize more, with your friends_, a small voice said in her head. _Oh, wait…you don't have any_. Naru opened her eyes unhappily. _You spend all your time studying. That's why you have no friends, isn't it?_

"Remember to brace yourselves, guys," Keitaro reminded them, hearing the cable car conductor announce the upcoming stop. Mitsune nodded in acknowledgement.

"You hear that, Naru?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Hmmm?" Naru looked up sleepily. The conductor put on the brakes, making the cable car screech and lurch forward. She gasped as she stumbled forward, right into Mitsune's body, hugging him to support herself.

"Whoa!" Mitsune exclaimed, his arm wrapped around her waist. "You ok?"

_I've never been so close to someone like this before…_Naru thought tiredly, blushing, _outside of a family member…_ Regaining her composure, she removed herself from Mitsune, unlatching her arms.

"Yeah," she replied. "Sorry." Keitaro looked away from them, a little glum.

_I _am_ pathetic…getting so worked up about hugging someone,_ she continued to think negatively.

"Be careful…" Keitaro added. As she heard this, Naru got embarrassed.

"I'm not a klutz like you!" she stammered, turning around quickly to face him. Unfortunately, tired as she was, her legs did not react in their usual manner; taking a step towards Keitaro as she was turning around to face him, her foot dug into the floor, making her leg buckle.

_What the-_Naru thought, not quite believing her second stumble. Fortunately, Keitaro was there to hold her up, with one hand resting on the small of her back…and the other clutching her left breast.

"Whoops!" he said sheepishly, quickly retracting his hand. "I'm really sorry. It was an accident." Ignoring him, Naru turned away blankly, covering her chest.

_That's the second time he's grabbed my breasts._ Her mind flashed back to the hot springs incident yesterday. She remembered how Keitaro's hands abruptly grasped her bare breasts, the rough way he massaged and shook them. Her nipples rubbing between his fingers-

_No!_ Rolling her eyes, Naru tried to stop herself from getting aroused. _What is wrong with me?_

_There's nothing wrong with you_, she told herself. _What's wrong with thinking about that kind of stuff?_

_It's just…it's stupid. I have more important things to think about-_

_Like the entrance exams? Or…the boy from your promise?_ Naru breathed out, her heart hurting in a bittersweet manner as she remembered him. _You're so foolish, Naru. Let's face it; you're never going to see that boy again._

_Not this again…_she thought to herself. For a long time now, she started to rethink the importance of the promise she made long ago, realizing how unlikely it would be to meet that boy of her promise. Naru also realized how lonely her studying has made her.

_I mean, seriously, you don't know the guy's name. He could look like anyone. Give it a rest. _Naru quickly rubbed her eyes, just as some tears started welling past her eyelids. _And stop talking with yourself!_ Smiling sadly to herself, she shook her head softly, recognizing that talking to oneself is not necessarily a good thing. _You can still study and think about that boy of your promise, while having a social life._

_I guess…_Naru thought about where she lived now, with five boys. With that in mind, she glanced at Keitaro, catching him looking at her. He looked away quickly, fearing her wrath. _I deserve that, I suppose,_ she thought, smiling at his actions. Next, Naru looked over at Mitsune. Seeing what happened, he gave an amused smile as he shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't blame him," Mitsune said. "You pack quite a punch."

"Well, I'm not punching anyone right now," Naru joked, looking back at Keitaro. "I know that it was an accident, so you don't have to worry."

"So, we're cool?" Keitaro asked.

_Maybe coming to Hinata isn't so bad…maybe I can find the social life I need right here._

"Yeah," she replied.

…_That is, if I'm willing to find it-_

"Next stop, Hinata Inn," the conductor announced, while bringing the cable car to another sudden halt. Unprepared once again, Naru flew forward, landing right into Mitsune's arms.

"Don't worry, sweetie!" Mitsune exclaimed loudly, holding her head tightly into his chest in a protective manner. "We're finally home."

_I fell again,_ Naru thought to herself in embarrassment. She also looked up angrily at Mitsune. _You're messing up my glasses, moron!_

"You should really pay more attention, Naru," Keitaro remarked, looking at her in a belittling manner.

"Stop blocking the door!" an elderly businessman yelled beside Keitaro, pushing him aside and walking past him through the opening. He pushed him with enough force, so that Keitaro went flying right into Naru and Mitsune.

"Uh oh," Mitsune said through clenched teeth. With the extra weight now pushing against him, he loosened his grip on the hanging cable car ring, unable to hold on, causing them all to fall on each other in a heap. Mitsune fell onto the floor on his back, with Naru wedged in between him and Keitaro like a sandwich.

_Crap…_Mitsune panicked, her body touching his groin…

_Oh no…_Keitaro thought as well, his groin right against her bottom. Naru widened her eyes, feeling something she's never quite experienced before, and then looked up, seeing all the passengers around her looking at them strangely. Her face turned very, very red…and then her eye twitched.

-A few moments later…-

Naru cleared her throat, and readjusted her glasses, before walking through the cable car doors. Behind her, everyone had backed away from her in fear, forming a five-foot semicircle around the opening. Keitaro and Mitsune found themselves crumpled on top of each other, with their legs resting on the cable car step, and the rest of their mangled bodies on the sidewalk. As she left the cable car, she stepped on both of them.

"Ow," Keitaro mumbled.

"Ow!" Mitsune muttered, a little louder. When the cable car screeched away and Naru reached the base of the steps leading to Hinata, the boys were able to compose themselves. They ran, catching up with her on the steps.

"Naru, that was an accident," Keitaro pleaded with her.

"I literally did nothing," Mitsune said, "I just stood there, an innocent victim, as all of this happened."

"Shut up, you perverts," she exclaimed, continuing to march up the steps.

"Naru, even though I did nothing, I am very sorry for doing even that," Mitsune tried to reason with her. "I had no idea that Keitaro was going to do that-"

"I didn't do anything, either!" Keitaro snarled. "Some old guy pushed me into you!"

"Look, Naru's going to have an easier time forgiving one person, rather than two people. So, she'll forgive me first, and then you can go next-" As Keitaro tried to slap Mitsune in the face, he avoided Keitaro, running around Naru. Getting even more tired of their antics, Naru could only sigh and continue trudging up the steps as they got closer to the top.

"Guys, please stop," she begged them. They did as she wanted them to, with each of them settling on either side of her.

"Sorry," Keitaro and Mitsune both mumbled. Step by step, the three of them finally reached the top, greeted by the sight of the softly-lit Hinata Inn.

"Finally," Mitsune sighed, rubbing his aching neck. "I need some food."

"From Shinobu?" Naru asked. She perked up at the thought of his cooking, her mouth watering unconsciously.

"That's right," he replied, nodding vigorously. "I can't wait-"

"Me too!" a voice yelled out from above. Naru, Keitaro, and Mitsune looked up to their left, into a large and dim tree. Leaves rustled, and fell lazily from a large tree branch, when Kaoru suddenly launched himself from the darkness, crumpling his fellow residents into a pile.

"What is wrong with you people?" Naru cried out in frustration, tangled up with three other bodies.

"My apologies, Naru," Makoto called out from the inn entrance, while walking up to them. "Kaoru does that from time to time." He reached out to Naru, lending a hand. Unfortunately, she was not the person to take it; Kaoru grasped his hand tightly, as well as Makoto's elbow with his left hand.

"I surrrrrrrrrrre do!"

"No, Kaoru!"

"Judo flip!" Kaoru yelled, heaving Makoto onto the pile. Hurling him into the path of Keitaro, Mitsune, and Naru, he was able to save himself from their coordinated attack. All this time, Shinobu stood under the entrance overhang, looking over the strange scene occurring right in front of him. With a perplexed and amused face, he walked over slowly to his fellow residents.

"Hey, guys," he greeted, causing them to stop bickering with each other. "You hungry?"


	7. Up the Hole, and Then Down

References – _Love Hina _manga/anime

Disclaimer (again): I do not own _Love Hina_. It belongs to its respective owners.

Chapter 7: Up the Hole, and Then Down

Before tasting it, Mitsune blew on the small spoonful of hot curry sauce. He rolled the last bit of it around his mouth and tongue, savoring the flavor.

"Not bad," he decided, looking up at Naru.

"Thanks."

"Kaoru, write this down." Eagerly, Kaoru raised the notepad and pen he had resting on his lap, onto the dinner table. "Overall, the curry is fine, although nothing special. It has none of the rich texture and slightly sweet twist of Shinobu's curry, for instance."

"This is the first time I've cooked something-"

"However," Mitsune cut her off, "however, Naru's curry stays within its bounds. Compared to Kaoru's curry, Naru's tries to cater to everyone at the table, instead of violently assaulting everyone's taste but their own." Next, he tried the rice. "Also, the rice is dry." Naru gave him a look before resuming her dinner. "Do you have all that?" he asked Kaoru. In response, he nodded. Mitsune looked around the table at his fellow residents, seeing most of them ignore him. "Kaoru, could you comment on Naru's curry for us?" Saluting Mitsune, he grabbed his spoon, got a spoonful of curry and rice, and put it into his mouth, all in one smooth motion. Kaoru closed his eyes tightly and chewed the food vigorously, holding his fists up in anticipation.

"It's…tongue-burning!"

"Ok, let's drink a lot of water now," Mitsune advised Kaoru, taking his glass of water and pouring it into Kaoru's wide open mouth.

"Are you ok?" Makoto asked, sitting next to Kaoru. "We keep telling you to blow on hot foods before eating them."

"Mmmhmm."

"Moving on…" Mitsune continued, "Makoto, what is _your_ opinion on tonight's curry?" As expected, Makoto kept his head down and ignored him, eating his meal.

""No…comment,"" Kaoru said out loud, while writing out the words on his notepad.

"Naru, any comments?" Sitting opposite of Makoto, Naru stared Mitsune down with an annoyed look.

""I…want…to…punch…you…in…the…face,"" Kaoru determined, scribbling his own phrase down verbatim.

"What?" Mitsune asked, looking at Kaoru in disbelief. "No. I told you to stop judging what people say from the way that they look at me."

"I'd say that he's pretty accurate in his reading," Naru retorted.

"Actually…" Mitsune ignored her, "I'm getting something here…" He leaned slightly over the table, peering deeply into her eyes as she continued to stare at him. "She's saying…"I am attracted to you."" Mitsune leaned back into his chair, content with his assessment.

"Oooooo," Kaoru cooed, scratching out Naru's original "comments." "Now that you say that, I can really see it."

"Can't you?" Mitsune asked. "Damn." He shook his head, with a surprised smile on his face. "This was unexpected."

"Mitsune?" Kaoru asked, trying to get his attention.

"Hmmm? Oh. Right, right. The comments." Now, he looked to Shinobu, who sat to Naru's left. "Our cooking expert. Always an honor: Shinobu Maehara, ladies and gentlemen." He applauded, along with Kaoru. Shinobu confidently gave him a condescending look, which was rare, given his shy manner. However, to his surprise, Naru applauded as well, making him blush.

"Thanks," he said awkwardly to Naru.

"Well, it's the least I could do; you make such great food," she gushed. "It's the best food I've ever tasted. Seriously. Heck, it's better than my mom's." Shinobu chuckled.

"Heh, ok. Thank you, Naru."

"Now Naru's saying "I am attracted to you" to Shinobu," Kaoru said, continuing to write down his observations.

"Uh, no. I was just trying to say that I really appreciate his cooking. That's all." Mitsune and Kaoru both glanced at her skeptically, and then looked at each other.

"Right," Mitsune remarked. Naru rolled her eyes. "Anyway, Shinobu, what do you think about Naru's curry?"

"Ummm, it was really good. Yeah, I liked it."

"Liar," she scoffed playfully.

"No, I'm not lying," he said. "It was really good."

"Well, thanks," Naru said, "I really appreciate that."

"You're welcome," Shinobu managed to blurt out, playing with his curry. As he looked up, he noticed Mitsune and Kaoru giving him looks of approval, as well as amusement. Shinobu then looked around the table, and noticed that everyone else did the same. He even caught Makoto looking at him. "Excuse me," he mumbled, quickly getting up from his seat and leaving the dining room. For a few moments, an awkward silence settled over everyone.

""It was really good,"" Kaoru said, and wrote, out loud.

"All right," Mitsune began, "and now, finally, we have Keitaro." He glanced at Mitsune as he ate another mouthful of his meal. "Care to comment?"

Chewing over the curry and rice, Keitaro looked over at Naru, and saw that she was looking at him as well.

"Sure," he replied, reaching for his glass of water. "I thought, for a first try, that it wasn't…half-bad." Naru raised an eyebrow while he sipped from his glass. "Not bad at all."

"Thanks," Naru said. Keitaro nodded, getting up from his seat.

"No problem," Keitaro returned.

"Where are you going?" Mitsune asked. Keitaro looked at him blankly.

"I'm finished." He pointed to his empty bowl. "Makoto left just now, while we were talking." Sure enough, they looked over at Makoto's seat and found that he was gone.

"That bastard," Mitsune muttered, "he didn't even excuse himself from the table."

"Oh well," Keitaro exclaimed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to my room."

"I excuse you," Mitsune granted, as if he was a king. As he walked away from the table, Keitaro rolled his eyes and groaned.

"See you later, Naru."

"See ya." With Keitaro gone, Naru turned to Mitsune and Kaoru with a perplexed, yet amused look on her face. "Mitsune, what exactly are you doing? What is this, some cooking competition?"

"Sort of," he replied. "Obviously, it's really nice that Shinobu can cook these amazing meals for us every day. But, along the way, we started thinking that it wasn't really fair to him; we thought that everyone of us should do the cooking, at least one day out of the week. So, I came up with a sort of…cooking evaluation."

"Ah."

"I decided to evaluate each resident on their cooking skills. After all the evaluations were made, we would decide to give the best chef, besides Shinobu, the most chances to get picked to cook for that one day out of the week."

"Like a drawing? Names out of a hat?"

"Yeah. For example, if Keitaro was the second-best chef here, he'd have a…four-out-of-ten chance of cooking breakfast and dinner in place for Shinobu. Sometimes, even lunch."

"And if I was the third-best," Kaoru added, "I'd have a three-out-of-ten chance of cooking for everyone." All of a sudden, Mitsune started coughing and hacking, his tongue hanging out.

"You ok?" Naru asked. Mitsune nodded.

"Yeah. I just…had a bad reaction there, for some reason. Gag reflex." He waved her off. "I'm fine."

"Next," Kaoru continued, "Makoto might get a two-out of-ten chance, and then Mitsune would only get a one-in-ten chance of cooking."

"How do you decide? Do you actually draw names out of a hat?"

"Yup," Kaoru answered.

"So, that's why you guys are doing all of this." Naru leaned closer, gazing at Kaoru's notepad. "How do I look so far? Am I the worst chef?"

"You're fine. You're in the middle of the pack."

Sighing, Kaoru lurched forward and dropped her things. "_I'm_ the worst chef, not you."

"Oh." Looking at Mitsune, Naru had this confirmed as he nodded solemnly. "Sorry about that." She shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe cooking isn't for you."

"Maybe…" After a moment or two, Kaoru finally looked up at Naru. Seeing her encouraging smile, he managed to flash one of his own.

"Well, I've got some studying to do, so if you guys will excuse me-"

"Seriously?" Mitsune asked in amazement. "We just took that prep exam at that school last week." She shrugged.

"What are you worried about? Besides, it's what you have to do if you want to get into the college of your choice," she said. "See you guys later."

"Uh-huh." Mitsune gazed at her backside before looking down at his meal. "My curry's cold."

-Naru's room…-

Naru splayed out her notebook, one of her prep books, and a pencil before her on her low table. As she did during dinner, she wore a t-shirt and shorts. Naru also went with her feet bare, as she usually did all around the inn.

_All right, number one…_She read over the problem, and knew the answer instantly. However, in the middle of writing her answer in her notebook, she pressed down a little too hard on her mechanical pencil, snapping off the lead. Naru frowned and clicked on the end, when the sound of that clicking reminded her of last week's prep exam, particularly Keitaro's troubles.

"Heh," Naru chuckled softly, looking blankly at her pencil as she thought of him. _That really was some bad luck that he had that day…_Suddenly, she pursed her lips, knowing what she was about to think about next…

-Flashback-

"Naru…" he whispered, his face slowly and slowly getting closer to hers. To her surprise, she found herself doing the same as well.

"Yeah…?" she asked, feeling flushed.

"_Did you know, that when a couple gets into Tokyo U, they love each other forever?"_

Blinking, Naru stopped herself, remembering her promise. She could see Keitaro close his eyes and pucker his lips a little, before leaning in for the kiss. Forgetting about her promise, she smiled and let him kiss her. After pressing his lips against hers for a moment, Keitaro let his tongue through, slipping it through her mouth until it touched hers. Her eyelids closed a little tighter, as their kiss sparked her blood, sending a strange energy through her body. He continued to probe deeply into her mouth as she rested motionless on the floor, paralyzed by this wonderful feeling.

Finally, he raised his head, and Naru breathed out his kiss. Her cheeks were now very red, with her eyes half-closed. Blushing as well, Keitaro smiled and slipped his left hand under her white dress shirt, the slight perspiration sticking it right against her stomach. Her open lips curved up slightly as she waited for his hand. It slid slowly up her stomach, over her ribs. His fingertips reached the bottom curve of her right breast, and pushed into it, right under her bra. Naru said nothing, only looking at her chest, imagining as if she could see his hand sliding right over the high slope of her breast. His fingers now held it, his middle finger grazing over her nipple. Finally, with his whole hand over her breast, Keitaro gave Naru a soft squeeze.

"Yes," she breathed out softly, looking into Keitaro's face. Next, he reached his right hand under her shirt, and-

"Ow," she said suddenly, feeling something poke into her stomach…

-Reality-

Finding herself back in her room, Naru snapped out of her fantasy and looked down at her chest, seeing that she was fondling her own body. Her left hand grasped her right breast, and her right hand would've grasped her left breast, had she not forgotten to drop the pencil in her right hand. She blushed, lowering her hand from under her t-shirt.

_That's not what happened, pervert,_ she chastised herself._ He only kissed me on the cheek, because I didn't want to kiss him. I turned away from him…_

_It's just like the boy of your promise,_ a small voice said in her mind. She raised her eyes in realization, as this finally dawned on her. Chuckling, Naru leaned back onto the floor and stared at the ceiling.

_Hey, maybe he's the same boy…_she joked to herself. Naru sighed. _I should've kissed Keitaro; it would've been so nice._ She stopped staring off into the ceiling and looked at her pencil. _Come on, Naru – stop thinking about that stuff. Get back to studying._ Sitting back up, Naru resumed her work.

"_Seriously?" Mitsune asked in amazement._ Unable to help herself, Naru drifted off into her thoughts again, remembering what Mitsune just said to her a short time ago at dinner.

"_You're going to study in your room?"_

"_Yeah," she replied, shrugging. "Studying is the only thing that I know how to do."_

"_Well…you could always do something else." Naru gave Mitsune a confused look._

"_Like what?" He crossed his arms, thinking deeply for a few moments. Then, as he widened his eyes, he had it._

"_We could kiss!" Hearing this, Naru blushed madly._

"_What?" she scoffed._

"_I don't just give cooking evaluations," Mitsune said, "I also give oral ones."_

"_So, you want to give me an oral evaluation?" she asked meekly._

"_Sure." Walking up to her, he reached for her face and tilted her chin upwards, so that he could kiss her with his tongue. Soon, her tongue probed around Mitsune's mouth as well, nervously darting inside. After a few more seconds, they stopped. Naru looked up at him in a dazed manner, her cheeks flushed._

"_How was that?" she whispered._

"_Not bad," Mitsune answered. Taking a step back, he looked down and unzipped his pants. "Now for the next part-"_

_What? No!_ Naru thought angrily to herself, shaking her head fiercely. _Stop thinking about that kind of stuff!_ Once again, she rested on her back and gazed at the ceiling. Regaining her composure by taking a couple of deep breaths, Naru found herself paying attention to the hole in the ceiling.

_I can't study right now,_ she realized, _but I should still take my mind off…things. By doing other things. Like…looking around the inn, or my room._ Naru strained her eyes, peering into the darkness of the hole. _Why has no one fixed this hole yet? _Tapping her pencil against the floor, she got up and cleared her books from the low table. _Maybe I should look into this…_she thought.

Looking around her room, she tried to find something tall to stand on so that she could look inside the hole. She decided on a wooden stool, and set it on top of the low table, directly below the hole. Naru stepped onto the table gingerly and climbed on top of the stool. As she got closer to the hole, she noticed some warmth emanating from it.

_I _thought_ my room was warmer than the others in Hinata…stupid hole. _Standing on her tiptoes, Naru raised her arms and reached into the hole to boost herself up…when she started having second thoughts. _Wait, maybe I should get back to studying…_ As she started to think about that, her thoughts wandered again to sexual fantasy and she shook her head. _Mitsune's right; I need a break…_

With that, Naru counted to three before jumping up and managing to climb into the hole. She grunted slightly, using all of her upper-body strength to get in. Brushing away a bead of sweat, she started to regret her decision. _It's actually pretty far up from the floor…_she thought nervously to herself. _I don't think I can get back down without hurting myself. Crap! Why did I climb up?_ Starting to panic, Naru continued to sweat as it was warmer inside the crawlspace than below the hole in her room. She looked around, noting the dark and dusty space she was in. _There's a lot of space here…_After some consideration, Naru decided to crawl around on her stomach for another way out, since the crawlspace was very low. The space around her was as wide as her ceiling and there was dust all around, as well as spider webs and flat wooden beams.

_Bad idea, bad idea! _She shuddered, with the dust balls and spider webs sticking to her skin, which was starting to get moist with sweat. After crawling around the far reaches for a few more seconds, she returned to the hole, trying to wipe herself off. Naru was now sweating a little more after her exploration. _I…I can't help it! It's too damn hot!_ On the crawlspace floor, she struggled to take off her t-shirt, using it to clean herself of sweat and grime. Her dirty t-shirt fell through the hole, followed by her shorts. _That's a little better,_ she happily thought, wiping her brow.

…_Now I'm in my bra and panties, stuck in a dirty crawlspace above my room._ Realizing this, Naru smacked her palm against her forehead. _You moron! _On her bare stomach, she looked down dejectedly through the hole. Suddenly, she realized that she felt something above her. Rolling slowly onto her back, she put her hands up to the top of the crawl space. _That's it,_ she realized, feeling the source of the warmth. _This is where the heat's coming from._ Looking over this part, Naru also discovered a large and round ring of wood, similar to the shape of the hole below. _This looks like the hole above my room…is this another hole? _She observed that this second hole was not directly above the first hole, but that they would mostly overlap if both were seen from a bird's-eye-view. _I could sit in the crawl space upright through this hole, while dangling my legs through the hole in my ceiling._

She placed both hands above her head, against the board that was rested on top of the round ring, and was about to push upwards, until the board moved by itself. Quietly, Naru slid a short distance away from the second hole. A burst of warm air flew into the crawl space. _Who…who could it be?_ she wondered.

-Meanwhile…-

Sighing, Keitaro reached under his furnace table and removed the board, which covered the hole in the floor of his room.

"I guess I should study," he grumbled, moving the board next to the table. Before sitting down, Keitaro glanced furtively to the door. Making sure that it was closed, he decided to take off his pants and socks, leaving him barefoot in his t-shirt and boxers.

_There we go…_he thought happily as he sat down at his usual place, facing his room doors. He slid his legs under the blanket of his furnace table, dangling his legs through the hole. _That was a pretty good idea…sanding down the broken edges of the hole, so that I could let my legs hang out in the air. Putting my furnace table right above the hole, sanding the edges, hanging out without my pants under the table…pure genius._ Keitaro gazed glumly at his notebook and workbook on his table. _At least I'm smart about comfort, and holes in the floor…_

_I'm sure that Naru would think that this is smart,_ he thought to himself, his mind wandering to Naru.

"_What's that sound?" Keitaro asked himself, hearing something under his furnace table._

"_So, this is where the hole goes."_

"_Naru?" Panicking, he started to push away from the hole and lift his legs. "I'm so sorry; I'm in my boxers-"_

"_I noticed," she said. Keitaro froze, feeling her tug on his feet and put him back in his place. Then, he felt her hands touching the front of his boxers, undoing the button._

"_N-Naru," Keitaro stammered, unable to stop himself from getting aroused. _

"That's perverted," Keitaro commented to himself, snapping out of his fantasy. "Sure would be something, though…"

-The crawlspace above Naru's room…-

In shock, Naru had backed away from Keitaro's erection, which was partially obscured by the fabric of his boxers and the slight darkness under the furnace table. Like Keitaro, she let her legs dangle through the hole in her ceiling, while sitting in an upright manner with her torso sticking through the hole in Keitaro's floor. She looked away at first, but her curiosity got the better of her after a few seconds.

_A penis…_ She sat with her eyes fixated on the strange sight. _An erect penis…_ Naru couldn't help but notice how it was throbbing slightly, pulsing up and down. _It's actually a little hard to look away from it,_ she confessed frankly. Looking over her grimy and sweat-soaked body, Naru frowned as she readjusted her bra with a couple of tugs.

_I'm going to have a hard time explaining this one…_

-Meanwhile…in Naru's room…-

"Naru," Mitsune called out behind her doors, knocking on them. "You better not be studying…" Hearing nothing, he slid open the doors and picked up the tray of cold drinks he rested at his feet. "…Because it's time to par-" Mitsune paused, noticing that she wasn't in her room. "…ty."

_What the heck?_ His gaze wandered from the wooden stool on top of the low table, to the dirty t-shirt and shorts on the floor. He set aside the tray, walked up to the table, and gazed up at the ceiling to look at the hole. Already having been a resident at the Hinata Inn for a while, Mitsune was aware of the hole in the ceiling. Still, it didn't answer the questions he currently had. _Where is she?_ he asked himself, unable to see much through the hole.

He quickly checked out her room, and decided that she wasn't there. _So, if she's not here, _Mitsune thought to himself, looking back up at the hole…

"_Keitaro!" Naru called out from under Keitaro's furnace table._

"_Naru!" Reaching for her hands, Keitaro pulled her up from the hole._

"_It feels like ages have passed since I've seen you at dinner."_

"_I know, sweetheart," he consoled her, embracing her as she rested her head on his chest. "Oh, I love you so much."_

"_I love you, too." As they locked lips, Naru chuckled to herself._

"_What so funny?"_

"_It's just that…" she began, "Mitsune has no idea that we fell in love, thanks to the hole that connects our rooms." Keitaro laughed as well._

"_That _is_ funny. Because of this hole, we came to know each other better. Love one another. And that moron Mitsune doesn't have a clue."_

"_He _is_ a moron," she muttered. "Hey, do you want to have sex again?" Keitaro rolled his eyes._

"_Duh," he replied, prompting them to remove their clothing..._

"Note to self," Mitsune remarked after staring off into space, "stop jumping to conclusions. …Especially sexual ones." With that, he ran out of Naru's room, trying to get to Keitaro's as fast as he could.

-Keitaro's room…-

Keitaro hit the books, not letting his fantasy "get the better of him." Naru, meanwhile, sat in front of him under the furnace table, just a little below floor level. Thanks to the constant heat of the furnace table, it kept getting warmer and warmer for her. Even in her underwear, the heat was getting unbearable. She was starting to sweat profusely, and was now becoming a little delirious.

_It's so hot…I need some water, or some cool air. Anything._ Naru started to reach under the blanket covering of the furnace table, but stopped herself. _If Keitaro saw me like this, it'd be so embarrassing…_

Keitaro continued to write in his notebook, when he heard some footsteps outside in the hallway, getting a little louder. They came to a halt outside his doors, and were followed by the sound of someone out of breath. All of a sudden, his doors slid open with force.

"Ah-HA!" Mitsune bellowed as he glared at Keitaro.

"Oh," Keitaro said unenthusiastically, seeing who it was. He returned to his work. "What's up, man?" Closing the doors behind him, Mitsune frowned.

"Just my suspicions," he replied coolly, slowly wandering around his room.

"…Okay," Keitaro added uncertainly. Finding himself next to the closet, Mitsune randomly decided to fling the closet doors open as well. "What are you doing?"

"Harbor any scantily-clad young women recently?"

_Mitsune…_Naru thought, overhearing their conversation. _Does he know that I'm here?_

"What are you talking about?" Keitaro asked him, having no idea what Mitsune meant. As Mitsune looked around the room, he realized that the only other place that Naru could be in Keitaro's room was under the furnace table. With this in mind, he walked up to the side of the table opposite of Keitaro's and went to his knees.

"Do you mind…if I sit at your furnace table?" Mitsune asked, a little loudly.

_No! _Naru screamed in her mind, starting to back away towards Keitaro. He sighed at Mitsune's request, not wanting anymore of his annoying games.

"Yeah, kind of," he replied honestly. "I'm trying to study here, and I really don't want you here if you're going to be annoying." Mitsune paused for a few moments, looking at Keitaro carefully.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about," Mitsune realized, "do you?" Keitaro threw his arms up in frustration.

"No. Why did you come up here, anyway? What do you want?"

"I just wanted to talk," Mitsune replied, turning around as he rose to his feet. He scampered back to the doors.

"Then, where are you going?" Confused, Keitaro believed that he hurt his feelings. "Wait, come back. I'm sorry if-"

"No, no," Mitsune interrupted quickly, sliding open the doors. "Don't worry about that. I'll be right back." He gave a quick glance at the furnace table before leaving. "I just need to bring back a cold bottle of water!"

"…Ok," Keitaro mumbled, still puzzled.

-In the kitchen…-

"So, I told Haruka, "Smoking makes you smell bad. See, those guys won't enter your shop because of the smell. Hey, I know where you can shove your cigarettes!"" Kaoru exclaimed to Shinobu. They stood in front of the sink, washing and drying the dishes.

"You don't have to get on her bad side like that," he chastised Kaoru, scrubbing another white bowl.

"But I was going to say that she could shove them into my air-freshening ashtrays, my latest invention!"

"Oh," Shinobu said. "Actually, that's not a bad idea, Kaoru."

"Tell that to Haruka," he snapped, rubbing his behind. "She kicked me out of her tea shop."

"Why don't you explain yourself to her?"

"No, she must be punished for her butt-kicking," Kaoru decided. "I demand that she show me her breasts." Shinobu turned to him in shock.

"Kaoru!"

"What?" he asked Shinobu innocently. "Mitsune told me that breasts were tasty, and that Haruka had some. …What are they, anyway?"

"Speak of the devil," Shinobu remarked as he spied Mitsune rushing into the kitchen.

"Whoa," Mitsune blurted out, raising his hands in front of him in self-preservation. "You do not want to do that. Trust me."

"Mitsune, did you really tell Kaoru that breasts were tasty?"

"Yes," he replied. "Look, I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I cannot talk about breasts right now." Shinobu raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Where's the notepad?"

"The notepad?" Shinobu repeated, puzzled. "Where it always is – next to the telephone in the lobby." In an instant, Mitsune ran out of the kitchen.

"Aw," Kaoru groaned in disappointment, "I really wanted to talk about breasts."

"What were we talking about again?" Shinobu asked, trying to change the subject.

"About breasts." Rolling his eyes, the resident chef was about to say something, when he realized that Kaoru was right.

"Right…Haruka's breasts," Shinobu said, imagining that his hands were grasping Haruka's still-youthful breasts. Blushing, he dropped the dishwashing rag from his hand and used his hands to support himself as he leaned into the countertop, trying to cover his groin. "Damn it," he muttered. Kaoru looked on in confusion, while Mitsune returned from the lobby with the notepad and a pen.

"Mitsune, are breasts really tasty?" He glanced at Kaoru as he stood next to him and started writing on the notepad.

"Of course," Mitsune answered matter-of-factly. "There's turkey breast, for instance. Deli or roasted. The deli meat goes great with mustard, of course." Kaoru nodded. "Then you've got chicken breast. Shinobu knows his way around a chicken breast, doesn't he?"

"He sure does…" Kaoru salivated, remembering the roasted chicken breast they had last night.

"And finally…last but not least, you have the breasts of a human female," Mitsune continued. Having finished writing, he tore off the sheet he wrote on and put it into his pants pocket. "However, you don't eat a human female's breasts."

"Really?"

"Really," he replied, opening the refrigerator and taking out a water bottle. "You don't slice them up, or harm them at all. You just…massage them. Rub them. Maybe nibble and lick them."

"Like ice cream?" Mitsune shook his head as he walked away from them.

"It's even better than ice cream, because they last much longer and don't melt." Kaoru started to drool. "All right. I'm in a hurry, so I'll see you guys later!" Mitsune exclaimed, running up the stairs.

-Keitaro's room…-

Keitaro looked up from the furnace table, noticing footsteps again. Sure enough, Mitsune popped into the doorway with a cold bottle of water and a pen.

"I'm back! Sorry if you waited a bit long." Keitaro shrugged.

"It's all right."

Mitsune walked up to the table to sit in front of Keitaro. Before he knelt down, he took out the folded piece of notepad paper from his pocket and put it on the floor in front of him.

_Oh no!_ Naru thought in fear. She now sat facing the doorway, as Keitaro was. Naru was able to put her arms over the edge of the hole in Keitaro's floor, and rest them there. Facing away from the hole in her ceiling, she was also able to stretch her legs out in front of her, in the crawlspace below Keitaro's floor.

However, instead of Mitsune's feet, Naru saw a piece of paper being slid on the floor in front of her, guided by Mitsune's hands. _What…what is this?_

"What are you doing?" Keitaro asked. Mitsune knelt at the table with his hands under the blanket.

"I just…really like furnace tables."

"Well, yeah. I know that," Keitaro said, recalling their previous winters at the inn. He made a motion with his hand, telling him to get closer. "Why don't you get more comfortable? Get your legs under there?"

"_Naru, I know you're under the furnace table…maybe. I looked in your room earlier and it looked like you went into the hole in the ceiling. If I'm right, Keitaro doesn't know you're under the table, and I'm sure that you'd want to avoid anything embarrassing. Also, you're probably really, really hot under there. If you're really under the furnace table, and want my help getting out of this mess undetected, tap me on the legs when I put them under the furnace table,"_ Naru read the note out in her mind.

"Sure," Mitsune agreed, shifting his legs from under him. Naru drew back her arms, sliding them under the hole. She looked on as Mitsune's feet and legs slowly came into view. Mitsune opened his legs as he moved them under the furnace table, trying to make sure that he wouldn't hit Naru. Feeling the edge of the hole with both feet, he gingerly moved up, letting his legs dangle. Mitsune then decided to close the gap, slowly moving his legs closer together.

_Mitsune…_Naru thought helplessly, while each leg nudged into her shoulders. She was now secured between his knees, and stuck looking at Mitsune's groin, which was a foot away from her face. With sweat drenching her brow, Naru reached for both of his ankles, and squeezed gently.

_So you _are_ under the table,_ Mitsune thought to himself, smiling.

"So," Keitaro began, interrupting his thoughts. "What'd you want to talk about?" Mitsune gave him a puzzled look.

"Huh?"

"You wanted to talk to me, but you had to get a bottle of water first."

"Oh, right." Scoffing, Mitsune made a motion with his hand, as if he was going to put his palm up to his face. "Duh." He shifted his cold bottle of water under the table's blanket covers, sticking it in front of his groin. Naru widened her eyes, and a look of relief washed over her face.

_Water!_

"So, what's up?" Keitaro asked. Mitsune looked away in thought as he kept a tight grip on Naru with his legs. She struggled to wriggle free, unable to move. She was so tired that she couldn't even raise her arms.

_What are you doing, you idiot?_ Her head was getting heavy. _I'm so thirsty…_

"I was just wondering…" Mitsune began, keeping his hands on the water bottle, "how are things between you and Naru?"

"Me and Naru?" Keitaro echoed. "We're all right. Why do you ask?" Mitsune shrugged and twisted open the bottle of water, putting the bottle cap next to him.

"Oh, I don't know. It's just that you guys always seem to be together, and-"

"Well, we're not always together," Keitaro said, trying to downplay their relationship.

"Yeah, right," Mitsune scoffed, tipping the cold bottle of water forward without thinking. "Oh, crap!"

Naru closed her eyes, just as the ice-cold water suddenly splashed all over her face. Moaning slightly, she felt incredible relief, the water running down from her lips and all the way down to her chest. The water went into her hair as well, which also felt nice to Naru.

_Idiot…_she thought, offering a satisfied smile as she rested her head on his thigh.

"What?" Keitaro asked, confused by his outburst.

"I…forgot to close the refrigerator door," Mitsune said. "Shinobu and Kaoru were in the kitchen, though. So…"

"It should be fine," Keitaro finished for him. Mitsune reached out to touch Naru's head.

_Please don't punch me in the groin,_ he thought to himself. Tentatively, he brushed wet hair away from Naru's forehead, wiping away sweat and water. Under the furnace table, Naru sighed softly, appreciating his touch.

"Exactly," Mitsune concurred. He slid his hand under Naru's cheek, carefully lifting her head up. Still dazed, Naru obeyed, letting him support her head. "Anyway, what are you talking about? You guys are always together." With his other hand, he kept the somewhat-full bottle of water at its tilted angle, and guided it towards Naru's face.

"It's not like we always talk…" Keitaro said. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Are you jealous or something?" Mitsune looked at him silently for a moment. He had Naru's chin in the palm of his hand, with his fingers along the nape of her neck. His thumb moved upwards, rubbing against her lips.

_M-Mitsune…_she thought nervously, blushing.

"Yeah," he replied with a sheepish smile, "something like that."

_And there's her mouth._ Holding the bottle by its opening, Mitsune slowly guided the water bottle into her mouth and tilted it, letting her drink. Naru latched on, gulping down every drop.

"Wow," Keitaro exclaimed, feeling like a new man. "Nice."

"Easy there."

"All right, all right," Keitaro eased up. He shook his head, smiling with amazement. "You know, I still can't believe it. A girl comes to the Hinata Inn, where we live. And I'm like her friend. We both want to go to Tokyo University, and I think she really likes me." Looking off into the distance, he sighed. "Do _you_ think she likes me?"

"Yeah, I think she does," Mitsune replied. "Do you like her?"

"Of course I do."

_He likes me?_

"That's great, man," Mitsune remarked. "You guys look like a nice couple, actually." Keitaro leaned away, taken aback.

"Whoa. This coming from a ladies' man." Mitsune shrugged.

"Hey, just my opinion." As they paused for a moment, Mitsune glanced over the open workbooks in front of Keitaro. "Do you really think you're both going to get in to Tokyo U, though?"

"I don't care if it takes me three more years," he answered. "I'm going to get into that university."

"Obviously, I'm not worried about Naru. I mean, number one in the national prep exams? Please. She's going to Tokyo U, no doubt. But you…?" Mitsune made a teetering motion with his hand.

"Whatever," Keitaro said, waving him off. "…Is that all you wanted to talk about? Me and Naru?"

"There's one more thing," Mitsune said. "Why did you…want to go to Tokyo University in the first place?" Keitaro looked at him, puzzled.

"Don't you already know this? I thought I already told you this before?"

"Well, yeah," Mitsune admitted, causing Keitaro to furrow his brow, "you have. I just…want you to say it out loud, so that you remember why you want to go to Tokyo U. …So that you can use it as motivation during your studies." Keitaro gave him a strange look. "And, to be honest, I kind of…forgot your reason for wanting to go to Tokyo U. Sorry." Keitaro rolled his eyes.

"Some friend you are," Keitaro remarked in jest. "It was because of a promise."

_A promise…?_ Naru thought to herself, the boy of her promise flashing before her eyes. She glanced backwards, imagining that she could see his face.

"Oh!" Mitsune exclaimed. "Right! You made a promise with…yeah." Keitaro smiled as he thought of the person he made the promise with. "How is she, by the way?"

"I don't know. She could be back home, or anywhere, for that matter." He rested his chin on his hand as he put his elbow on the table. "Anyway, I'm sure she's fine." Mitsune nodded. "Heh, you know," Keitaro added, "that's the same reason why Naru wants to go to Tokyo U."

"Really?" Mitsune asked, genuinely shocked at the coincidence. Scoffing, he leaned back slightly. "Naru really made a promise to someone, just like you?"

"Yeah." With a sad smile, Mitsune caressed Naru's cheek, making her blush.

"Huh. Sounds like you guys were meant to be together," Mitsune remarked, withdrawing his hand from her cheek. He took the piece of notepad paper he wrote on, turned it around, and showed it to Naru under the furnace table. Keitaro chuckled.

"_Naru, I'll go down to your room. Wait for me, and I'll help you get down from the hole,"_ Naru read to herself, from the other side of the note.

"Let's not get that far," Keitaro said, making Mitsune smile.

"Well…" Mitsune began, "I guess that's it. That's all I wanted to talk about." He fastened the cap back onto the water bottle, and shoved the paper and pen into his pocket.

"Ok." Mitsune put his hands on top of the table, and got up.

"I'll let you get back to your studies."

-Naru's room…-

A minute later, Mitsune reached Naru's room and closed the door shut behind him after opening it. He hurried to the table to get a good look at the hole.

"Naru!" he whispered. As he peered into the hole, he saw somewhat-grimy fingers wave over the edge of the hole, and then her face. "You okay?" She nodded. "Do you think that you can get down by yourself?"

"No! Don't you think that I would've done that, instead of holing up under Keitaro's furnace table?" Mitsune paused, judging the distance from the hole to the stool on top of her table.

"I just think that you can get down without my help."

"No, I can't! It's too high!"

"It's not that high."

"Yes, it is."

"Look," Mitsune said, "just try to lower your feet onto the stool. Just try to get down yourself. I'll catch you if you fall."

"But…"

"Naru, trust me. Do you think that I'm going to drop a beautiful woman coming down from the ceiling in just her underwear? I do not think so." Naru looked at him uncertainly before sighing.

"Ok," she decided. She turned around in the crawlspace, putting her feet through the hole first. However, as she started to put her lower legs through, Naru started to fall quickly. "Crap!"

"Gotcha!" Mitsune exclaimed. With both arms outstretched, he caught her next to the stool. He hooked his right arm under her knees, and the other under her shoulders. Naru blushed.

"Thanks," she said, looking up at him.

"You're welcome." After a moment of awkward silence, Mitsune lowered his head towards Naru's. "…And beautiful. For a bookworm, that is." Naru widened her eyes as his lips got closer to hers.

_The boy of your promise is nice and all,_ a small voice told her, _but a memory…_

…_doesn't compare to something real right now,_ Naru realized. Instead of wanting to turn away from Mitsune's kiss, she felt that urge disappear. With her sudden realization, she decided to close her eyes and embrace his kiss. _My first kiss…I can't believe it…how will it feel? _

_Wait…_she thought to herself. Frowning, Naru felt that something was wrong. She opened her eyes, realizing that she wasn't being kissed yet. Naru gave a puzzled look, seeing Mitsune's face an inch away from hers, quivering.

"I…can't believe that I'm going to do this," Mitsune said quietly. To her surprise, he tilted his head away from hers, and lowered her feet to the ground, allowing her to stand. Naru gaped at him.

"Why…didn't you…" Naru mumbled, feeling a little rejected and confused.

"Keitaro," Mitsune replied. He pulled at his hair, still not quite believing what he did. "He's…a nice guy, and my friend. He really likes you." As he shook his head, he tentatively walked past her and stopped at the doors. "I can't do this to him."

"It's not like I'm going out with him."

"Still…the dude's never had a girlfriend," Mitsune said. "Look, just forget it. I'm sorry." With that, he walked away and went to his room next door. Naru looked away from the door as she ran a hand through her hair and rubbed her neck. Sighing, she walked over to a seating cushion and lowered herself onto it, hugging her knees.

_Mitsune…_she thought sadly to herself. _Stops himself, all because of Keitaro. _Naru buried her head against her knees. _And Keitaro! He has a promised girl of his own…_

Naru lowered one knee and laid down on her back, putting one hand behind her head and the other on top of her stomach. _Could…could I be the girl of her promise?_ She scoffed at herself for thinking such a thing, and placed a hand over her eyes. _Of course not._

_But…maybe, just maybe, I am,_ she argued with herself. Naru sighed again. _Who could it be? Mitsune said that he's never had a girlfriend…_ Groaning, she rolled over to her side. She raised her head by bracing her elbow against the floor, and intertwined her legs. _Who is Keitaro's promised girl?_


	8. H, L, & H a W on Someone's BDay Pt 1

References – _Love Hina_, Google/Wikipedia (forgot what the traditional Japanese clothing was called for Motoko/Makoto…ugh, by the way, I really feel like working on a Motoko fic with Keitaro…but I mustn't…

Motoko: You know, Keitaro, I've been wanting to kiss you for some time now…

Keitaro: Then, why not now?

Motoko: Because it'd be so out of character for me, silly!

Keitaro: Oh.

Naru: (creeping up behind Motoko's back) What was that, Motoko?

Motoko: Uh, nothing! Heh, I wasn't saying anything. (Naru drags him away from her, Motoko puts her hands to her heart, and sighs deeply) I love you, Keitaro.

And…scene. …In all seriousness though, Motoko needs her tongue down Keitaro's throat, just like everyone needs a tongue down their throat. Except for your own, of course.)

Chapter 8: Hating, Loving, and Hugging a Woman on Someone's Birthday – Part 1

Shinobu groaned as he twisted towards his alarm clock and turned off his alarm. He flipped back onto his futon and pillow, inhaling and exhaling deeply.

_Happy birthday, Shinobu,_ he told himself. _You're thirteen years old. You're a teenager. _Pushing away his blanket, he rolled to his hands and knees, and stood up. _You're officially a man._

"Hey, squirt," a voice called out. Furrowing his brow, he looked to the doors. Mitsune slid them open and greeted him with a smile.

"Don't call me that," Shinobu muttered, rubbing at his eyes.

"Okay." Noticing some unusual attitude, Mitsune looked at him with concern.

"How long have you been up?" Shinobu asked. "You usually wake up after me."

"I just…couldn't sleep last night," Mitsune replied, following him out of his room as they walked down the hall. "I'm pretty sure that I made a big mistake yesterday."

"What happened?" Shinobu asked. He entered the bathroom, and Mitsune did too.

"Oh." Mitsune glanced around. "Were you going to take a piss? Should I be outside?" As he stood in front of the toilet, Shinobu opened his mouth, and then closed it, thinking things over.

_You're a man now,_ he told himself. _Don't be a wuss. Guys don't worry about these kinds of things._

"No, it's okay," Shinobu responded. Mitsune looked puzzled, not expecting his response. "I mean, we're both guys. Who cares, right?"

"Well…if you're going to pee, I'd rather be outside," Mitsune said frankly. "I'd like to avoid the smell of your urine, if it is at all possible."

"Fine," Shinobu scoffed. Turning around, Mitsune reached for the door to slide it closed. "…Pansy."

Hearing this, Mitsune stopped in his tracks. He turned back around, looking at Shinobu with a baffled face. Shinobu blushed, as he had lowered his pants to draw out his penis.

"Did you…just call me a pansy?" In Mitsune's voice, there was no hint of anger; there was only confusion.

"Yeah," Shinobu replied, looking straight ahead and still blushing, his manhood still exposed.

"Did I do something to you? Why are you angry at me?"

"I'm not angry at you. I just…want you to stay in the bathroom while I pee." Mitsune loosened his lips in shock as he stared at Shinobu's face for a few moments.

"I guess…I can do that," Mitsune finally said. He left the door open. "I'll just turn around and face the hallway, if that's all right with you."

"Okay," Shinobu agreed, looking down at the toilet bowl.

"So, what were we talking about?"

"You…couldn't sleep last night-"

"Oh, right. Anyway," Mitsune continued, "I seriously think that I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life yesterday."

"What happened?"

"Well…" Pausing, Mitsune thought about what he'd say, glancing behind him. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course. I'm your man." Mitsune took a deep breath.

"Okay…here goes." He rested his hands on his hips as he looked down at the floor. "I almost kissed Naru." Startled, Shinobu looked at Mitsune.

"Wow."

"I could've kissed her, but then I stopped." He shook his head. "I stopped because of Keitaro."

"Why?"

"He's my friend. I mean, you've seen how much he hangs around Naru. I think they really like each other. And you know how he's never had a girlfriend."

"Fuck that," Shinobu blurted out, fueled by his desire to sound like a man. Mitsune smiled in disbelief, glancing behind him again.

"Excuse me?" he chuckled.

"…Screw that," Shinobu corrected himself. "Is Keitaro her boyfriend?"

"Not that I know of."

"Then, who cares? It's every man for himself." Shinobu shuffled his feet. "…I would've kissed her." Mitsune chuckled again.

"Heh, all right. Thanks for the advice, Shinobu."

"No problem, man." Mitsune smiled broadly while he looked forward, mostly because of Shinobu's strange behavior. His smile faded as he kept waiting at the doorway for the sound of urine splatter.

"Uh, should I give you some privacy?" Mitsune finally asked, looking back at Shinobu.

"Sure," Shinobu exclaimed quickly, still blushing. As Mitsune walked out and closed the door behind him, he shook his head softly.

_What is up with Shinobu?_ he thought to himself.

-Meanwhile…in Makoto's room-

Makoto frowned as he slept, tossing and turning in his futon…

-Dream-

With the rain outside, Makoto decided to finish up his daily katana training early and return home. He took off his sandals and went to his room to put away his katana, when he heard something next door, in his sister's room.

_Tsuruko?_ He quietly went into the hallway and stood by her closed doors, listening intently.

"Ow! That hurts!" Tsuruko exclaimed.

"Heh, heh…" an unknown voice chuckled from her room.

Makoto gasped. _She must be in trouble!_ He rushed into his room and grasped his katana, unsheathing it. As he left the room, he turned immediately to face his sister's room again. Breathing in and out deeply, Makoto forcefully slid open the doors.

"…don't worry, I'll make it feel better," the woman whispered into Tsuruko's ear, snuggling their naked bodies closer together under her blanket.

"Don't bite so hard," Tsuruko murmured. She gazed at her friend's short blonde hair as she rubbed at her own wet nipple, trying to make the pain go away.

"S-sister!" Makoto exclaimed. Both girls froze, and then looked in his direction.

"Shit!" the stranger muttered. She turned pale, noticing Makoto's katana.

"Makoto." Embarrassed, Tsuruko blushed and looked away.

-…-

He opened his eyes, and sighed, as the memory came back to him. Seeing that it was morning, Makoto got up and dressed.

-Later…in the dining room…-

Makoto entered the dining room/kitchen area for breakfast in his traditional garb, finding Shinobu and Mitsune already there. As usual, Shinobu stood at the stovetop busy with food, while Mitsune was seated at the dining table, glaring at Makoto with his eyes wide open.

"Good morning," Makoto said politely, seating himself at the opposite corner of the table. He wished to sit as far away from Mitsune as he could.

"Hey, it's the warrior," Shinobu exclaimed over his shoulder, adding some salt to a boiling pot of soup. Mitsune said nothing as he continued to glare at him, this time grinning smugly. An awkward silence hung between Mitsune and Makoto for a few moments. Finally, Makoto sighed.

"That's not very polite," he remarked, referring to Mitsune's constant glare.

"You know what else isn't polite?" Mitsune asked him. "What you did last night at dinner."

"What did I do?"

"It's what you didn't do," Mitsune clarified, leaning closer over the table towards Makoto. "You didn't excuse yourself from the table." Makoto rolled his eyes.

"I don't think that's a very big deal."

Mitsune scoffed and leaned back into his chair, looking at him in disbelief.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Mitsune said. "I thought you were all about manners. Politeness. Civilized people practicing etiquette."

"I am."

"Then, as that kind of person, you should've excused yourself from the table," Mitsune reasoned. "As a result of this, I am thoroughly outraged."

"Ah," Makoto added without interest, sipping from his glass of water. Mitsune raised his finger.

"However, if you pay me a small fine, I may be willing to forgive you." Annoyed, Makoto looked away.

"I would've excused myself, but there's no need to do so when you're doing one of your silly shenanigans during meals. It's already understood that no one needs to stand for your stunts."

"You are so rude," Mitsune said out loud, seeing Keitaro enter. "Isn't Makoto rude?" he asked Keitaro.

"Why?" Keitaro asked. He sat two seats down, leaving a seat between himself and Mitsune. "What happened?"

"Makoto did not excuse himself from the table last night at dinner." Keitaro gave Mitsune a funny look.

"I…don't think we really care about that," Keitaro commented as Mitsune gave him a disgusted look and turned around in his seat, looking at Shinobu.

"Shinobu," Mitsune called out. Shinobu turned off the stovetop, and came over with a tray that carried six bowls of soup. "Isn't Makoto rude?"

"I don't think so," Shinobu replied as he started to place the bowls onto the table.

"What do you think?" Mitsune asked, turning to Naru as she walked into the dining room.

"About what?" she chimed. She glanced quickly at Keitaro and Mitsune, noticing the empty seat between them, then looked away. "What are you talking about?" she asked, walking to the other side of the table. Shinobu blushed slightly as he continued to set out the soup, taking up the seat facing Mitsune.

"Sorry," Shinobu blurted out. Remembering his dream about Naru for some reason, he stepped back and pulled the chair out for her. "You can sit here."

_Mitsune…_Naru thought to herself. She imagined sitting in front of him, eventually looking at his face…his lips…thinking about the kiss they almost had. Blushing a little, she wanted avoid any awkwardness if she could.

"It's okay." She walked around Shinobu and settled into the seat next to Makoto, surprising the young swordsman. "I'll just sit here." Feeling a bit rejected, Shinobu faked a smile as he finished setting out the soup and sighed deeply once he was back in the kitchen area with his tray.

"Anyway," Mitsune continued, "remember when Makoto didn't excuse himself from the table last night?" Naru gave him a perplexed look.

"…Yeah," she replied. "I think so. So what?"

"Didn't you think that he was being rude?" She gave him a confused look.

"No, not really. I didn't care."

"Also," Mitsune added, "also, he insulted me today."

"Oh, really?" she asked, turning to give Makoto a surprised, yet amused look. Makoto looked at her for an instant before turning away.

"He said that I was…silly. Silly! Can you believe that?"

"Don't see anything wrong with that assessment," Naru remarked with a smirk.

"Oh." Mitsune tightened his lips. "Ok." Looking at Makoto, he frowned as he noticed a small smile of satisfaction cross his face. "Well, how's this for silly?" Mitsune smirked back at Naru. "Makoto is sexist. He hates women."

_Let's see how Naru likes Makoto now!_ Mitsune thought gleefully to himself, looking at her face. However, to his surprise, Naru remained calm.

"I know," Naru said before sipping on her glass of water.

"…You know," Mitsune echoed, looking on disappointedly as she kept her cool.

"He told me last week."

-Sometime last week…-

Naru scribbled on her notebook, when she heard a knock on her bedroom door.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"It's Makoto."

_Makoto…?_ She got up on her feet and slid open the door, seeing him there in his usual kendo attire.

"Hey," Naru chirped, greeting Makoto with a smile. He frowned slightly. "What's up?"

"Do remember when I said that we had to work out some issues, your first day here?"

"Yeah." She recalled the vote to have her stay at Hinata. "Is that what you wanted to talk about?" He nodded. "Okay." She glanced behind her shoulder, looking at her room. "Come in," she said, gesturing towards her room by slightly tossing her head.

Looking past her, Makoto stiffened as he thought of his sister's room. Uncomfortable images of her with all sorts of strangers in her room surfaced in his mind. He twitched his neck unconsciously.

"If it's all right with you, I'd rather speak to you in my room." Naru looked at him with some confusion.

"Oh." She scratched her neck as she looked behind herself at her room again. _Is my room that dirty?_ she asked herself, looking at the various books, articles of clothing- _Oops, my bra._ Naru quickly turned back to Makoto, hoping that he didn't see her black bra resting on the floor. "Ok," she agreed, sliding the door closed behind her.

"Good." He walked down the hall to the stairs, and she followed behind him. Naru looked at Makoto closely, and curiously, from head to toe.

"Do you always wear that?" she asked him.

"Not always," he replied. Getting a little uncomfortable at her gaze, Makoto cleared his throat. After going up the stairs to the third floor, they stopped in front of his room and he slid open the doors.

_Hmmm…_ There was something that Naru admired about Makoto's room. Besides its cleanliness, there was a traditional quality to the room. It was also very sparse, which, strangely enough, seemed inviting to Naru. She smiled, noticing his katana rack and a suit of samurai body armor.

"Nice room," she commented. "So, this is what it looks like-"

"Actually," he interrupted, sliding the doors shut, "let's talk out here." Naru frowned, wondering what was going on.

"Uh, what's wrong?" she asked as she folded her arms across her chest. "Why can't we go into your room?"

_I can't have a woman in my room,_ Makoto realized. _She could be indecent, for all I know._

Lewd images of Naru sexually engaging him crossed his mind, arousing and repulsing him at the same time. _She could be just like Tsuruko…_

"I changed my mind," he said. "Let's just talk out in the hallway."

"Ok. What did you want to talk about?"

"…You."

"Oh," she said, expecting this to be the case. She dropped her arms to her sides. "Ok." Makoto took a deep breath before talking.

"First, I wanted to apologize for attacking you your first day here."

"I'm fine, don't worry." Naru smiled kindly as she looked at him. Makoto politely gave back a small smile, before going back to his neutral face. They continued to look at each other for a few seconds before Naru narrowed her eyes at the awkward situation and glanced down the hallway. "…Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"I was wondering if you could apologize as well."

"All right," she supposed, shrugging. "What for?" Makoto gave her a puzzled look.

"For attacking the residents!"

"Ohhhh!" Naru realized. "Right…" It was Makoto's turn to fold his arms across his chest. "Well then, I apologize for hitting Keitaro…and breaking the fence around the hot springs." Looking down at her chest in concern, she self-absorbedly placed her hands below her breasts and pushed them up slightly. "…Although, he really did hurt my breasts by shaking them-"

"Stop that!" Makoto interrupted loudly, taking his hand and slapping her across the face.

"Ow!" she angrily blurted out, fighting the urge to punch him. "What the hell was that for?"

"I'm…" Blushing madly, Makoto lowered his head. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "It's just that, when I see a woman being promiscuous and immoral, I can't help myself – I have to punish her."

Naru opened her mouth, about to say something, when her mind flashed back to the first day. She remembered how she punched Mitsune, and Keitaro twice, after they were acting perverted. Sighing, she rubbed at the stinging sensation in her cheek.

"You know," she admitted, "I do the same thing."

"What?"

"When I attacked Mitsune and Keitaro my first day here, it was because they were being perverted." Hearing this, Makoto changed his look from confusion to concern.

"Oh," he said, "I'm so sorry." He looked away to the stairs. "Should I punish them?"

"No," Naru said quickly, shaking her head. "That won't be necessary. Thank you, though." He gave a small smile again, for support. "Still, that doesn't excuse your behavior."

"My behavior?"

"You can't just slap women, and punish them," she explained. "That's abuse. Assault. It's against the law!"

"Oh? And you can punch men for being perverts?"

"Whatever," she said, giving up. "Are you sexist or something? Why do you punish women?"

"I…" Makoto began. As he searched for the reason, his mind returned to his sister Tsuruko. He started to feel frustrated and angry.

_Why was she like that?_ he thought to himself. _So dishonorable. So…embarrassing._ He started to feel a dull pain coming back in his chest, growing sharper. _I needed a role model, someone to look up to. But Tsuruko…_

"You _are_ sexist," Naru guessed, in a teasing manner. "It's a shame; I thought you were one of the few good men in this place-"

"Sister," Makoto suddenly murmured. Naru furrowed her brow.

"What?" she asked. "What'd you say?" Peering into his face, she noticed that his eyes were starting to tear up. "Is something wrong?" she said quietly.

_What should I do?_ Naru asked herself, having much more experience with exams than with people.

"I'm…sorry," she said. Raising her hand, she hesitated before reaching out and squeezing his shoulder. "Is it something I said?" Naru leaned closer. "It's okay."

"My sister," Makoto said quietly. "Tsuruko."

"You have a sister?"

_Stop talking,_ he told himself, trying to put up the defenses again. _Stay strong, don't show that you're weak._ _What does she know, anyway? _

"Uh, no," he blurted, brushing away Naru's hand. "No, it's nothing. Nothing's wrong."

"Okay."

"You know what?" Makoto said, looking to the stairs. "I just realized that I forgot something. On the roof. So, I'll see you later." With that, he turned and swiftly walked away from her.

-Present time…-

"What, and you're fine with that?" Mitsune asked Naru in disbelief.

"Well, no," she replied. "Obviously, we shouldn't discriminate on the basis of things like sex, race, and so on." Glancing at Makoto with some sympathy, Naru brushed back some bangs from her forehead. "Still, I think that everyone has an opinion, and that it should be respected." Makoto lifted his gaze from the table to look at Naru. "Even Makoto's."

"I too respect Makoto's opinions," a familiar voice exclaimed. Kaoru walked over to Keitaro and Mitsune, pulling out the chair between them and plopping down. Mitsune sighed dejectedly as Shinobu came by with bowls of rice.

"Besides," Naru continued, looking at Mitsune, "that way, you get to know more about someone." She grasped the edge of the table in a carefree manner. "And maybe, you get to understand the reasons behind those opinions, and finally respect that person."

"Whatever," Mitsune grumbled, dropping the subject. He snatched a bowl of rice from the tray, and the rest of the residents followed suit. Shinobu went back to the kitchen area to put away the tray and walked to his seat next to Naru, as they began to eat.

_Naru…_Shinobu thought longingly, looking at her from behind. _If she were my girlfriend, that'd be…amazing. Unbelievable. _His dream about her came back to him again. _All right, Shinobu._ _Things will be different now._ He sat down next to her. _I'm going to start acting confident and stop being shy. Like a man._ Sipping from his glass of water, he decided to follow his dreams.

"You look really nice today, Naru," Shinobu said, looking down at his food and blushing before glancing at her. The other male residents glanced at him strangely.

"Oh." She looked at Shinobu, and offered a polite smile. "Thanks."

_Compliment the date – check._ _Now, to engage Naru in conversation…_

"So, it's the weekend."

"Yeah," Naru mumbled as she munched on some soup and rice, much to the annoyance of Makoto. Shinobu waited for her to continue talking, but she didn't.

_Not very talkative…_Shinobu thought to himself.

_Shinobu's acting a little weird,_ Naru observed. _Talking to me, out of the blue._ Swallowing her food, she crossed her legs at her ankles and rocked them gently, back and forth.

"Have any plans?" he asked. Naru took another sip of water and put down the glass, not looking at him.

"No. I never have any plans." She put a spoonful of rice into her mouth and started to chew, when she started to regret her frank reply. "…Because I'm...always concentrating on my studies. I'm always…busy."

"Oh," Shinobu said. He started to blush even more, thinking about what he was about to say next. "Well…if you were free, did you want to catch a movie?"

"A movie?" she repeated, a bit shocked. Naru gave Shinobu a curious look, causing him to look away nervously. Meanwhile, everyone else looked at the two of them, not quite believing the scene that was unfolding. "Ummm…"

_I've never been asked out before,_ Naru realized sadly. …_That's kind of pathetic._

"Uh, you don't have to," Shinobu backed off, finally getting too nervous. "I was just kidding."

"No, I'm free," she said quickly, delighted by his offer. "Um…what did you want to watch?" Shinobu opened his mouth in shock as he looked at her, not saying anything. Kaoru made sounds of satisfaction while he eagerly devoured his breakfast. Otherwise, everyone else stopped eating, and gave Shinobu and Naru long looks of surprise. "Shinobu?" Naru asked, a little uncomfortable with his silence.

"I…" Shinobu began. "I don't know…"

_Naru wants to go…on a date with me…_

"Well, when you do know…let me know," she said, blushing a little while she resumed her breakfast.

"Okay." With that, Shinobu looked away from Naru and back to his rice. He mindlessly played around with it, the spoon in his hand slowly poking and prodding inside the bowl. Makoto noticed this, as well as the muted response of his fellow residents to this news; even Mitsune said nothing. Still, Mitsune stared sadly at Naru.

_Why the hell would she go out with that loser?_ Mitsune thought to himself._ …No offense, Shinobu._ He frowned._ That should be me,_ _and it probably would've been, if I had kissed her. …Crap._

_I guess everyone is a little surprised,_ Makoto remarked inwardly. _And off guard, with good reason. _Looking around the table again, he sighed. _Might as well do it now, since we're deciding to discuss things this morning during breakfast…_

"Excuse me, everyone," the young warrior said. "I have an announcement to make."

"What's that?" Mitsune asked indifferently, bringing another spoonful of rice into his mouth.

"I'm going to a kendo camp this weekend."

"That's nice," Mitsune remarked, continuing his apathy.

"I'll have to go to the mountains on the outskirts of town, so I'll be sleeping over there with my fellow campmates-"

"No!" Mitsune suddenly exclaimed with his mouth full, sending a little rice flying out of his mouth as he realized what Makoto was saying. He immediately pushed away from the table and knocked back his chair so that he could run away. "Every man for himself!" Naru furrowed her brow as he ran out of the dining room.

_What the-_

Naru widened her eyes, seeing Keitaro do the same.

"Sorry, Makoto!" he called out.

"What is going on?" she asked, looking at Makoto and Shinobu. Turning to Shinobu, Naru scoffed, seeing him slide down his seat unto the floor.

"You have to go to camp?" Kaoru asked belatedly. He put down his spoon and chopsticks at once, focusing on Makoto. "So, that means that you'll be gone for the weekend?"

"Yes," Makoto replied. "Actually…" Pausing, he turned around in his seat and glanced at the clock. It was now nine in the morning. "I have to leave right now, Kaoru. The bus will be here soon."

"That's okay." Looking around, Kaoru only saw Naru left among the other residents. "I'll be with Naru." Makoto nodded appreciatively, as Naru raised her eyebrows in concern.

"All right. Now, if you don't mind, Naru and I will excuse ourselves from the table so that I can get my bags." Kaoru flashed a thumbs-up and a wide smile before he resumed eating. Meanwhile, Makoto leaned over to Naru to whisper. "Could you come with me, please?"

"Okay," she replied quietly, getting up with him and following him out of the dining area. As they reached the area of the lobby close to the stairs, Naru noticed Keitaro and Mitsune hanging out on the couches.

"So, what happened?" Mitsune asked. He rose slightly in his seat, looking out to the kitchen. "Did you stick him with Shinobu?"

"No. Unfortunately, Naru might be stuck with him."

"So, you're talking about Kaoru?" Naru asked Makoto. He nodded, and she then looked at Keitaro and Mitsune. "Why did you guys run away?"

"It's because we don't want to take care of Kaoru," Keitaro replied. "Look, Kaoru's closest friend is Makoto. When he has to leave for camp or something like that, Kaoru latches on to the next person that he sees until Makoto comes back."

"What? Is he horrible or something?"

"That's one way to put it," Mitsune remarked. "I'd also say that it's exhausting, and painful."

"It can't be that bad," she scoffed, looking at Makoto. "…Can it?" He sighed, taking the bags he left next to the staircase and the couch. He had to shoulder his two large bags, and carried his shinai in his hands.

"It can get…strenuous…at times," Makoto said. "Just in case, I told him that he could not touch your…" He paused, blushing as he gestured at Naru's chest. She looked down at her breasts, and then smirked mischievously before looking back at Makoto. "And your…other region." Glancing at that part of her body, Makoto cleared his throat. "But, I'm sure that you can handle it."

"Wait, I'm…new here," she protested. "Can't one of you guys take him?"

"I'm sorry," Makoto apologized. "Kaoru said that he would be with you. So, trust me – he's going to be with you. And since you're female, he's probably been very curious to touch you."

"Good luck," Keitaro added sadly. Naru rolled her eyes as Makoto walked past her towards the inn entrance.

"Well, I have to go, so I'll see you all Sunday night."

"What time?" Naru asked, walking beside him through the lobby. Keitaro and Mitsune looked on, chatting.

"Nine o'clock, I think," he replied as he stopped in front of the entrance to put on his sandals. He looked back across the lobby to Keitaro and Mitsune, who were now joined by Shinobu and Kaoru. Waving them goodbye, Makoto gave a small smile as they acknowledged him. He looked back at Naru and bowed slightly in respect. "Goodbye, Naru."

"Wait," she said, thinking about what happened last week. "I just wanted to say something." Makoto arched his eyebrows.

"What?"

"I thought of a few things that I wanted to apologize for," she replied. "I'm sorry that I pushed up my breasts last week."

"…Okay," he said, blushing slightly as the image of what she said came up in his mind.

"I'm also sorry that I handled your katana without your permission," she continued. "However, in my defense, I was literally using your katana in my defense against you guys my first day here. I was just trying to protect myself." Makoto smiled in disbelief, surprised by her politeness.

"It's okay," he told her. "I overreacted. Besides, I think you handled my katana very well." Naru smirked at him as they shared a moment of understanding.

"Well, that's all I wanted to say, so…bye."

"Bye," he returned politely, turning to the doors and opening them.

"…Good luck," Naru added.

"_Good luck," Tsuruko said, kissing her kid brother Makoto on the lips, as she always did when he left for kendo instruction with the other children. She'd give him a sideways smirk and ruffle his hair, before letting him leave._

Naru kept her gaze on Makoto, as he paused for some reason. A moment later, he stepped outside and closed the doors behind him while looking into the morning sky.


	9. H, L, & H a W on Someone's BDay Pt 2

Chapter 9: Hating, Loving, and Hugging a Woman on Someone's Birthday – Part 2

Naru looked up suddenly, feeling somebody mount her from behind as she was sitting down at her table with her studies. He rested the front of his body completely against her back, and twined his light-brown legs across her stomach, with his thighs squeezing her slightly. After crossing his forearms softly under Naru's neck, he slowly moved his hands down in front of her in the air.

"Ummm…" she said uncertainly, "oookay."

"No," Mitsune exclaimed, standing behind Naru and the boy, "it's not." The boy gasped as he felt his fellow resident jab him in the ribs, causing him to jump up and raise his arms involuntarily. Mitsune quickly hooked his arms under Kaoru's armpits and pulled him off of Naru.

"Mitsune," he whined. Mitsune plopped him onto the floor, a few feet away from the table, and sat next to him.

"Guys, you don't have to be here," Naru assured. "In fact, I don't _want_ you guys to be here – it's _my_ room."

"I'm just providing refreshments," Shinobu said. He was sitting down next to her with a tray of riceballs and cups of water. "Riceball?"

"Could I have one?" Keitaro asked, putting down his pencil.

"Sure." He gave him a riceball, along with a napkin.

"Thanks," Keitaro replied, taking a bite before using the napkin to rest it on the table.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Kaoru pouted to Mitsune.

"You can't touch her."

"Makoto said that I could."

"Look, don't listen to Makoto; I keep telling you to stop hanging around with him."

"Why? He's such a nice person."

"No, he isn't. He's really messed up."

"Really? That's what he says about you."

"Don't fall for his mind games."

"Could you keep it down?" Keitaro asked, a little annoyed. "We're trying to study."

"Yeah, right," Mitsune muttered under his breath. "You just want to get into her pants." Wanting to respect Keitaro's wishes, Kaoru leaned closer to Mitsune.

"There're no mind games," he whispered into his ear. "I love Makoto." Mitsune grimaced upon hearing this.

"I love touching him," he continued to whisper. "When I hug him, ride on his back, sleep with him-"

"Okay," Mitsune interrupted, "just to be clear, you don't actually…_sleep_ with him, right?"

"What do you mean?" Kaoru asked innocently.

"Never mind."

"Remember when I slept with you?" Kaoru asked, recalling when Mitsune had to take care of him. He remembered how they snuggled together in Mitsune's futon, avoiding that chilly winter night. "It was just like that."

"Hey!" Mitsune whispered fiercely. "I told you to never bring that up. Never!"

"Why? You seemed so happy when we held hands while we slept."

"No! I was _not_ happy! I was sad! Very sad!" Kaoru shrugged.

"Well, anyway, the hugging and sleeping, I love doing that, and I do it all the time with Makoto. Since he's gone, I want to do it with Naru. And he said that I could."

"Let's just stop here," Naru said to Keitaro. Shinobu's eyes lit up in anticipation as Naru left her pencil inside her notebook and closed it. She put the notebook inside her workbook, and closed that as well.

"All right," Keitaro supposed, dropping his pencil and eating the rest of his riceball.

"Should we go to the movies now?" Shinobu asked.

"Yeah," she replied, leaning back to stretch her arms. He blushed, glancing at her chest as she curved backwards.

"Great!" Kaoru exclaimed. Surprised, everyone looked on as Kaoru scooted to the table on his hands and bottom. "What are we going to watch?"

-An hour later…-

Although the sun was out clearly in the morning, clouds started to pass overhead as it got closer to the afternoon. Near the center of town about thirty minutes away on foot was the movie theater, which was relatively well-packed this weekend. People glanced at the framed movie posters lining the outside of the theater before entering through either of the double doors, to the left or right of the ticket booth. Ticket machines were also fitted into the narrow walls right next to the entrances, just before the walls of posters jutted out along the sidewalk.

"How about this?" Shinobu asked, stopping in front of one poster. It showed a blonde high school cheerleader sitting next to a brown-haired nerd with glasses in a classroom. The cheerleader and nerd ignored each other, looking straight ahead. However, under their desks, the nerd rested a hand on the cheerleader's thigh. The cheerleader seemed fine with this, as she had her hand resting on his hand. Gazing upon the poster, Naru frowned.

"You want to watch this?" she asked, with a hint of displeasure.

"Yeah," he replied. "I do."

"That's boring," Kaoru whined, tugging down on Naru's hand and bringing her down to his face.

"Boring?" Shinobu echoed. "It looks interesting to me."

"I don't know," she murmured, giving the poster another frown. "It kind of looks stupid to me." Shinobu frowned with disappointment.

"Then, let's watch this!" Kaoru exclaimed. He made an iron grasp on Naru's hand, and dragged her a couple posters down, further away from the theater. This poster showed a grizzled-looking convict in an orange jumpsuit, fending off an enormous crowd of zombies with an assault rifle.

Naru lurched over and sighed. "No. That looks stupid, too. …If not stupider."

"What do you want to watch, then?" Shinobu asked. She shrugged as she glanced indifferently over the posters.

"I don't know," she replied, putting her hands into her pockets. Turning to the entrance, Naru began walking. "Let's just watch what Shinobu wants to watch."

"Bleh."

"Come on, Kaoru," Shinobu chided him. "This is my date, not yours."

"Well…" Naru began, walking up to the end of the line to the ticket booth, "I don't know if I'd call this a date." Upon hearing this, Shinobu gaped at her in shock.

_I knew it…_he thought sadly to himself, standing behind her in line.

Meanwhile, around the same block, Mitsune peeked around the corner to look at his fellow residents purchase movie tickets. "They're buying their tickets now."

"What are you doing?" Keitaro asked, waiting impatiently beside him. "Are you spying on them?"

"Maybe…"

"Why?"

Mitsune shrugged and brought binoculars up to his eyes for a better view. "I don't know. It just bothers me that Naru is going out with Shinobu and Kaoru. I mean, why doesn't she want to go out with us? We're older and cooler than those pipsqueaks, am I right?"

"First of all, she's just with Shinobu, not Kaoru; Kaoru is just latching onto his new playmate while Makoto's gone. Second, it's not like it's a date or anything. Shinobu and Kaoru are too young. They're just finding something to do for the weekend." Keitaro looked around at the cars and people passing by, before leaning over and looking at him. Noticing his binoculars, he narrowed his eyes. "You have binoculars?"

"No," he replied, "but your aunt does."

"Oh." Keitaro looked down the sidewalk to the movie theater entrance, and saw their fellow residents going inside. "Well, there they go." Mitsune lowered his binoculars. "Can we go watch something now?"

"Okay, thanks," Mitsune said, putting a hand to his ear and walking towards the theater entrance. "I know what they're watching." Keitaro followed.

"What?" Keitaro asked, with a confused look on his face. "What are you talking about?"

"I know what movie they're going to watch," he replied. Keitaro realized he was talking about their fellow residents as Mitsune gestured to the ticket booth.

"How?"

"Kaoru," he replied, pointing to his own ear. Looking closely at it, Keitaro noticed an earpiece. "He's a double agent."

"Okay…" Keitaro looked up at the movie times as he and Mitsune lined up at the ticket booth. "So, what do you want to watch?" In response, Mitsune gave him a confused look.

"We're going to be watching the same thing that they're watching."

-Inside the movie theater…-

"Aaand I want those," Kaoru exclaimed, pointing at a yellow box of chocolate candy sitting behind the glass counter.

"I'm sorry," Naru cut in, taking him away from the concessions worker with Shinobu's help. "Excuse me."

"Look, Kaoru," Shinobu said, "we have plenty of food back home, so we shouldn't waste money here."

"But…popcorn…" Kaoru started to mope, swinging his arms back and forth.

"I'm sure that Shinobu can make much better popcorn," Naru remarked. "Besides, he could probably make whatever you wanted."

Kaoru sighed. "Fine."

"All right," Naru said, glad to avoid any inconveniences. Her hand, now very sweaty from Kaoru's death grip, pulled Kaoru along as Shinobu walked beside her. "Let's go to Theater Five." They headed deeper inside the movie theater, turning their backs to the entrance. A moment later, Mitsune and Keitaro opened the door and went through. Peering into the small crowd of people entering and exiting theaters, they were easily able to spot Naru, Shinobu, and Kaoru by her flowing amber-brown hair.

"We've got…twenty minutes left," Mitsune noted, looking at the lobby clock and his ticket, "so let's follow them in without being seen."

"Sure," Keitaro replied without feeling, tagging along as Mitsune hurried quietly behind them.

"Theater Five," Naru said out loud, seeing the said numeral planted on the wall next to the closed theater door. Unbeknownst to them, Mitsune and Keitaro followed a few feet behind. It immediately became a little darker inside, with the usual movie theater lighting. They found it mostly empty, except for a couple people in the front middle row. "Where should we sit?"

"From the middle back," Shinobu responded. Led by Naru, they trekked up the stairs. She paused at the middle, trying to decide the row that they should sit in.

"Is this good?"

"Hmmm…let's go one more row back."

"Sure." With that, they walked up a couple more steps before walking into the aisle. Mitsune and Keitaro quickly tiptoed past them and settled into the very back row.

"Mission accomplished," Mitsune commented softly, resting back into his cushy theater seat.

"I can't believe that I'm going along with this," Keitaro muttered, sitting next to him. "Look, why are we doing this? Why would she care that she sees us?" In response, Mitsune paused for a moment or two before shrugging, which annoyed him greatly.

"Hey! Guys!" Keitaro suddenly exclaimed. Horrified, Mitsune tried to muffle Keitaro's mouth, but it was too late. Shinobu turned around in his seat and saw them, giving them a strange look.

"Oh, hey. When did you get here?" Confused, he looked around the theater aisles and wondered how the two of them got in without their knowledge. "And how did you get here without us seeing you?" By now, Naru and Kaoru had turned around as well. She gave Mitsune a steely look, wary of his actions.

"Maybe…you should get your eyes checked," Mitsune remarked. "Heck, I don't blame you for missing us; it's pretty dark in here."

"…Right," Naru said skeptically, narrowing her eyes. "Anyway, what are you guys doing, sitting back there? Come sit with us."

"It's okay. We like sitting in the back-"

"Aw, come on," Keitaro interrupted Mitsune. "It'd be rude to not join our fellow residents." Looking helpless, Mitsune glanced at Keitaro before gazing at Naru, Shinobu, and Kaoru. He sighed as Keitaro got up from his seat and left the back row.

"Damn it," Mitsune muttered to himself. He looked dejectedly at the movie trivia on screen and got up to join the others.

-Meanwhile…-

At the tea shop, Haruka took the chair out of her small office and rested it behind the counter, while holding a lit cigarette between her lips. She took the newspaper to her chair, when she noticed something out of place on her counter. Looking closer at the countertop, Haruka saw that her ashtray was gone from its usual place next to the cash register. It was replaced by another ashtray, which was shiny, metal, and silver. It also had a black dot on one of its edges, and a piece of paper under it. Exhaling some smoke, she took the paper and turned it over:

_Sorry about last night. Hope you like the new ashtray. – Kaoru_

Haruka sighed, putting the note down onto the countertop. _Where is my ashtray?_ she asked herself. Shaking her head in dismay, she rested Kaoru's ashtray on one of the wide armrests of her chair before sitting down with her newspaper and crossing her legs. Next, Haruka took the cigarette from her mouth with her right hand, and fished out her cell phone from her apron pocket with her left. She flipped the cell open, went to her digital phonebook, and called Kaoru.

-At the movie theater…-

Kaoru glanced furtively to his left and right, before reaching into his shirt to pull out a banana.

"Got another one?" Mitsune asked, sitting between Keitaro and Shinobu. Naru sat to Shinobu's right, while Kaoru was to Naru's right.

"Yup." Kaoru started to rear back, as if he was throwing a baseball.

"Oh, don't throw it," Mitsune whined, causing Kaoru to stop. "Just pass it along." Frowning, Kaoru did as he was told, handing it to Naru as she gave him a strange look. He went into his shirt to get another banana, when his cell started to vibrate. Kaoru reached into his pants pocket and brought out his cell. The display said "Tea Party." He slid part of his cell and brought it to his ear to answer the call.

"Hello?"

"Kaoru, where's my ashtray?"

"Your ashtray? I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Haruka asked. She puffed on her cigarette once more, with her newspaper resting on her lap. "You're the one who replaced it."

"How do you like it? I think it looks nice and modern, very sleek and state-of-the-art."

"I don't care about that." Looking indifferent, as usual, Haruka glanced at Kaoru's ashtray and brought the cigarette above it to tap out some ash. "I just want my old ashtray back." When her finger tapped down on the cigarette and the ash fell into the ashtray, the ashtray's black dot turned red as it emitted a red light.

_What the…_Haruka thought, peering at the ashtray. Suddenly, it hissed, sending a plume of wet spray into the air above. Surprised, she jerked back from the spray and arched her eyebrows.

"Oh, now I remember!" Kaoru exclaimed while gripping his banana. "I put it in your desk, in one of your drawers."

"Okay." Haruka sniffed. "Kaoru…"

"Yeah?"

"Your ashtray just sprayed me with something that smells like bananas."

"Does it smell good?"

"…Yeah, I guess."

"Good, it's a new invention of mine."

"Oh, really? What does it do?"

"It's just an ashtray that releases a mist into the air, whenever you drop ash into the ashtray. The mist works as an air freshener, as well as an aphrodisiac."

Haruka was about to comment on how it wasn't such a bad idea, when she heard the last word that he said. "…Aphrodisiac? You mean, like a love potion?" For a moment or two, she could only hear slight static on the other line.

"…Ummm, I didn't say that," he replied, in a dishonest tone.

"Kaoru," Haruka said sternly, "did I just inhale an aphrodisiac?"

"...You might have." Getting aggravated, she sighed.

"How strong is it?"

"Oh, you know me. I just want to make you happy-"

"Kaoru," Naru whispered, noticing that the lights were getting dimmer. "The trailers are about to start."

"Sorry, Haruka, but I have to go. The movie's about to start."

"You're at the movies? With Keitaro and the others?"

"Yeah."

"Wait, how strong is the aphrodisiac?"

"Very strong. Bye." Kaoru slid his cell back into its original state, and back into his pocket. Thinking about Haruka, he couldn't help but smile mischievously.

_If I got the formula down correctly, this would be so great for Haruka! With my air-freshening and body-arousing ashtray spray, she'll smell better and guys will actually want to go into her shop, whether it's for business or pleasure. Plus, she'll actually be attracted to them!_

-At the tea shop…-

A little shell-shocked, Haruka slowly flipped her cell closed and stared at it. "Fuck," she finally breathed out, looking out at the tea shop entrance. Fearing for her sexual life, she quickly slipped her cell back into her apron pocket and reached her hand over to the ashtray to put out her cigarette, when she remembered what Kaoru said about her invention. Getting up from the chair, Haruka flipped the newspaper onto the counter and gingerly picked up the ashtray, putting it next to the cash register. She let go of her cigarette, dropping it to the floor before putting it out with her foot. With a brisk pace, she walked around the tables to get to the entrance. Haruka slid one door closed, and went to slide the other one, when she heard a strange sound, like a bird cawing.

Looking up, she widened her eyes as a large and majestic-looking bird flew straight at her from outside. "What the fuck?" she muttered, backing away from the door opening. The golden bird, with its swan-like neck, flew inside the tea shop and fluttered to rest on top of a large shelf behind the counter.

"Magic?" a voice called out, from just outside the entrance. Haruka turned around to see another woman standing at the doors. The woman had long black hair, and bangs which covered her forehead. Her hands gripping each door, she wore traditional Japanese clothing, with her white kimono and dark blue hakama. She had a pale-white complexion, yet she seemed strong and her skin had a healthy glow to it. The woman smiled, seeing the bird inside the tea shop. "There you are." She walked inside, past the tables and up to the counter. Raising her arm, the woman was able to get the bird to flutter down and perch on her shoulder. Haruka frowned at the whole thing, not wanting this to happen. "I'm so sorry about that. Sometimes, Magic gets curious and swoops into places that she likes."

_Oh no,_ Haruka thought, starting to feel a sexual desire building up inside herself. _She's hot._

"It's okay, but I'm afraid that you have to leave now." The woman gave Haruka a puzzled smirk.

"Why's that?"

"I've decided to close shop for the day," Haruka replied agitatedly. Continuing her puzzled look, the stranger walked casually around the tables to get closer to Haruka.

"Kind of early, don't you think?"

"I'm sorry. It's just that…something came up." Getting closer, the woman glanced outside and saw that it was getting a little sunnier, as the clouds broke slightly. She eventually came to a stop in front of Haruka, next to the doors.

"Like what?"

"Ummm…" As Haruka looked into her brown eyes, she couldn't help but notice the woman's beauty. The woman's eyes were sharp and piercing, her nose protruding with a soft point, and her lips were pink. Haruka now noticed that the woman's lips were glistening, as the woman had just licked them sensually.

_I think she's attracted to me,_ the woman thought to herself, curiously sizing up Haruka's body. _She looks kind of cute, with her short hair. She also looks a little bored, though._ Imagining Haruka's face with an orgasmic expression on it, the woman slowly smirked in a mischievous manner towards Haruka. _I think I should change that bored expression of hers…_

"…I just think that there might be something wrong with me today," Haruka blurted out.

"Shoo, Magic," the woman said softly, turning her head to the bird without looking away from Haruka's eyes. As commanded, the bird flew away, back to the shelf it landed on previously. Haruka looked back at the woman, and saw her shaking her head softly. "What do you mean?" she asked, giving a warm smile. "You look beautiful to me." Haruka blushed and scoffed nervously.

"That's not what I mean." As the woman arched her eyebrows in concern, she stepped closer to Haruka. They were now only separated by a foot of space. Still blushing, Haruka stepped back a little bit. However, to her dismay, she walked straight back into a wall, leaving her nowhere to go. Haruka glanced back at the wall anxiously before looking back at the woman.

"What's your name?" the woman asked.

"…Haruka," she blurted out nervously, looking at the strange wrappings that covered the woman's chest behind her kimono.

"That's a beautiful name," the woman remarked, casually reaching behind Haruka's back to undo her tied apron lace.

"W-What are you doing?" By trying to undo her apron, she had to lean even closer to Haruka, with their faces a couple of inches apart.

"I'm just undoing your apron…." Untying the lace, the woman finally tilted her neck and pressed her lips together with Haruka's. Haruka parted her lips in shock as the woman leaned in for a kiss. The woman expertly explored the inside of Haruka's mouth, causing Haruka to close her eyes blissfully. She stopped a few moments later, and removed her lips from Haruka's. "My name's Tsuruko."

"I…" Haruka stammered, blushing, "I think _your_ name's beautiful, too." Tsuruko smiled warmly again.

"Thanks." Looking down at Haruka's apron, Tsuruko started to lift it above her head. "Watch your head." Haruka shut her eyes as the apron's neck hole passed up over her face.

"Anyway," Haruka began, "a few minutes ago…" Sighing, she looked over at the counter. "This is going to sound strange, but I accidently and unknowingly inhaled an aphrodisiac." Tsuruko dropped the apron to the floor, and went to work on Haruka's t-shirt, lifting it off her body as well.

"Right," Tsuruko said, not believing Haruka's words. She reached behind Haruka and unclasped the bra.

"Wait," Haruka suddenly exclaimed. Tsuruko stopped immediately, and watched as Haruka walked past her to the door. Her unclasped bra still clinging to her breasts, Haruka walked in front of one of her doors, where an "Open" sign hung on a nail. She promptly flipped the sign over, walked back inside the tea shop, and finished sliding the doors closed. Finally, Haruka switched the door lock on, on the side of the door handle.


	10. H, L, & H a W on Someone's BDay Pt 3

Chapter 10: Hating, Loving, and Hugging a Woman on Someone's Birthday – Part 3

"Okay," Melissa said to Nathan. Standing in front of her house, she shook the key out of the forest-green door before putting it back under the hide-a-key rock next to the grizzled-black welcome mat and turning the gold-polished doorknob. "Here we are." Melissa entered through the front door first as Nathan nervously followed. Raising his eyeglasses higher up on his face, he looked up to see a chandelier two floors above that was not turned on, and a staircase along both walls of the large foyer.

"Nice house." He gazed around the foyer, noticing the dining room and a piano room.

"Thanks. You hungry?" Melissa gestured ahead, to the kitchen. "Want anything?"

"Oh, no," Nathan replied, shaking his head. He tugged on his backpack's shoulder straps and gave her a sheepish smile. "I'm okay." Melissa returned his smile effortlessly, amused by his awkwardness.

"Well…" Casually shifting her blue eyes upstairs, she calmly let out a small breath of boredom. "I have to change out of my cheerleader uniform, so…just take a look around the house if you want, and I'll get you after I've changed."

"Sure," Nathan said quickly, nodding.

"I can take your backpack, if you want."

"Oh, no. It's okay-"

"It's no problem," Melissa insisted, keeping an easygoing gaze. "I'll just take it up to my room, and then we can hang out." She walked behind Nathan and gave his backpack a couple of big pats. "Come on. Give it to me." A little befuddled, Nathan gave in and gingerly freed himself from the straps. He turned around to look at her.

"I'll just stay here then-"

"Whoa," she suddenly chirped. Her hands lifting his backpack from the bottom, she started to lean back with the extra weight. Nathan started to reach for her, but she fell harmlessly on her bottom and let her backpack squeeze her torso against his backpack. He quickly took up his backpack by the straps and lifted it off Melissa, putting it to the side. She gave a sideways glance to his backpack. "I swear, you have the heaviest backpack ever."

"You okay?" he asked, frowning slightly. "I'm sorry." Hearing his apology, Melissa gave him yet another strange yet amused look.

"For what?"

"Ummm…." Pausing, he realized he wasn't sure why he apologized. "I guess for all the books I carry." She tilted her neck at an angle, and increased her perplexed look. "I'm always doing homework. You know." Finally, Melissa smirked and offered her right hand so that he could help her off the floor. He hesitantly reached with his own, and pulled her up.

"Thanks." Once again, she looked up at the left staircase. "Actually, let's just go up together."

"Okay," he agreed, letting her walk past him.

-…-

Shinobu glanced secretly at Naru, to his right. She kept her eyes glued to the screen, seeing Melissa and Nathan walk into Melissa's bedroom.

"All work and no play, Nathan?" the theater speakers sounded, getting Shinobu's attention.

-…-

"…I guess," Nathan replied, putting his backpack down next to hers.

"Then, why would you ask me out on a date?" Melissa asked. She sat down on her bed, looking at Nathan curiously. He looked away in embarrassment, blushing.

"Ummm, to be honest…" he replied, "my friends made me do it. I guess they thought it'd be funny, to see a loser geek ask out the most popular girl in school."

"Aw, don't say that." She gave him a sympathetic face.

"Well, let's face it: I am a loser-"

"No," she interrupted. "Don't say I'm the most popular girl in school." Nathan gave her a strange look.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not," she replied, with complete sincerity.

"But, you think I'm a loser geek?" Melissa brushed away a long blonde lock of hair away from her eyes, smirking at him as she shrugged.

"Well, you seem to believe that yourself," she explained, "that you're a loser geek." Looking away, she paid attention to her cheerleader skirt and played with the end of its blue and black striped trim. "If that's what you believe about yourself, then who am I to say anything different?"

Nathan scoffed.

"So…if you think I'm a loser, too, then why'd you go out with me?" he asked. "Why'd you say yes?" Melissa shrugged again.

"I don't know." She looked away from him to gaze outside her window, observing the gray sky. "I guess I just realize the effort it takes to ask someone out that you really like." She glanced back at Nathan sideways. To Nathan, that sideways glance was always so attractive. He believed that was part of the reason why everyone liked her: she seemed mysterious. Strange. …Genuine. "I decided to reward that effort."

-…-

Frowning slightly, Shinobu couldn't help but look over to his right again.

_If Naru's going out with me, and it's not a date…then, why _did_ she want to go out with me?_ He turned back to the screen, blankly gazing over the audience members in front of him. _Out of pity?_ _Simply because I asked her? Because she's bored?_

"Heh," the theater speakers whispered loudly. "I bet that was your first kiss." Shinobu looked back at the screen, seeing the nerd blush greatly before eagerly engaging in another deep kiss with the cheerleader on her bed.

-Meanwhile…in the mountain side surrounding the town-

"Makoto!"

Hearing his name as soon as he got off the bus, the young warrior sighed and stood still for a few moments. His fellow campmates paused at the bus steps and in the bus aisle, waiting and confused as to why Makoto wasn't getting out of the way. Realizing this, Makoto walked forward to the dusty camp clearing, where two other buses and his other campmates were chattering about. He and the others were surrounded by camp lodges for them to sleep in, and a couple of training facilities, with large open sparring spaces.

Walking towards his campmates, he noticed a familiar face jogging towards him. The person who called out his name.

"Hey!" Izumi called out cheerily, stopping in front of Makoto and giving him a small jab in the stomach with her shinai.

"Hey," he returned apprehensively. He frowned at the jab, swatting her away.

"How have you been, Makoto?"

"Fine." Makoto looked at Izumi wistfully, from her long strawberry-blonde hair and honey eyes, to her budding and perky kimono-covered chest, and the butterfly tattoo on her right ankle. Looking back up at her face, he saw a flirtatious smirk planted there.

"Like the tattoo?" He frowned at Izumi's remark.

"No. When did you get that?"

"A few months ago," she replied, lifting up her right foot to get a good look at it. Izumi put her foot down and looked up at Makoto anxiously. "I also got a tattoo here," she added, reaching for her chest. Izumi started to slide back part of her kimono to show a little more of her right breast. Makoto looked away instantly.

"You should stop acting in such a sexually-suggestive manner," Makoto sternly wished, causing her to stop her hand. "You're reminding me of my sister."

"How is she?" Izumi asked eagerly. She looked around the campgrounds. "Is she here?"

"I don't know," he replied, looking around as well. "She could be violating another one of my peers right now, for all I know. After all, that's what happened with you last year…" Izumi looked away in embarrassment while playing with her hair. "…So…"

"Tsuruko didn't _violate_ me," she quibbled as she folded her arms. "She's a kind and loving person. She showed me what it means to be a woman."

"Well, I wish she didn't," Makoto retorted. "I remember how you used to be."

"What? Shy, introverted, and unaware of what the world had to offer?" He gave her a sharp look.

"That's not what I meant. You were…" Pausing, he tried to find the right words. "Cautious." Izumi looked at him quizzically. "Okay, maybe you _were_ shy and introverted," Makoto admitted. "Still…I liked that about you, Izumi." She softened her look, wishing that he said that when they were close friends. Realizing what he just said, Makoto blushed and cleared his throat. "And, what do you mean, "unaware of what the world had to offer?" What does that mean?"

"It means exactly that," she tried to explain herself. "I never tried to…explore the world before I met your sister." Makoto became a little agitated, hearing his sister being brought up again. "I always went home after school, and never went anywhere, until my parents forced me to do kendo. And your sister, she taught me that it was important to try new things. To believe in myself. That the world is so much more than my home and my school."

"No," Makoto snapped, finally having enough, "she taught you to be immoral and promiscuous." He looked over Izumi's body once more, this time with contempt. "And, now, I see that you've kept true to her teachings."

"Makoto…" Izumi began, reaching for him apologetically. Unfortunately, Makoto turned around and walked away quickly from Izumi, to the camp instructors next to a makeshift tent. Looking on, she sighed.

"Hey, Izumi!" someone called out behind her. She turned around, but not before getting hugged by a short-haired brunette. The brunette was followed by two other girls in traditional kendo attire, as all the other camp attendees were dressed in.

"Hey, Miki," Izumi returned.

"Was that Tsuruko's brother?" the pink-haired friend asked, looking at Makoto.

"Yeah," Izumi replied.

"_Fuck_," the other friend gushed, a small wind gust blowing strands of her purple hair away from her forehead. "It's been forever since I've seen Tsuruko." She blushed, remembering their times together. "Ummm…do you guys remember the-"

"Orgy?" Izumi finished her sentence, causing her purple-haired friend to blush even more about that night. Her friend shook her head in disbelief.

"I still can't believe that Tsuruko had us do that," Miki murmured. The four girls instantly remembered their nights together and alone with Tsuruko, recalling each of their naked bodies, including Tsuruko's. …And the great sex, of course.

Blushing, the girls looked at each other, and chuckled sheepishly.

"_It's okay, Izumi," Tsuruko whispered again, kissing Izumi's head as her sobs finally started to subside. Izumi slowly lifted her head from Tsuruko's chest and Tsuruko softly wiped away Izumi's tears from her eyes. She took a couple of deep breaths to stop from trembling, looking blankly at the mattress they were on._

"_I'm sorry," Izumi said softly, gazing at the tears on Tsuruko's pale breasts. Tsuruko shook her head softly while caressing Izumi's face._

"_Don't be." She leaned in and kissed Izumi deeply. After the kiss, Izumi knew that Tsuruko was special; she knew that she was thankful for Tsuruko, for hearing her problems in life…and doing so much more. "Remember this, Izumi…" Tsuruko added, looking right into Izumi's eyes. "You're a special person. A _good_ person." Izumi scoffed and looked away. "Hey." After a moment, she looked back at Tsuruko. "Do you think I'm lying?" Looking into Tsuruko's eyes, Izumi couldn't see any deceit, any dishonesty._

"…_No," she realized. For the first time in her life, Izumi could feel a well of self-confidence gushing up inside herself. Tsuruko saw this revelation across Izumi's face, and she knew that she'd done it again, that she changed someone's life. The Izumi she first knew was still there, but Tsuruko saw it begin to change. Izumi imagined herself doing things that she originally thought impossible. Izumi saw herself finally winning a kendo match, finally asking out her friend Makoto on a date…_

_Looking down, Izumi realized that she and Tsuruko were both naked and on a soft bed. She stared at Tsuruko's breasts and nipples for some time, amusing Tsuruko. Now, Izumi saw herself having sex with the most beautiful woman she had ever seen._

"_Tsuruko?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Thank you," Izumi said earnestly. With that, she warmly grasped Tsuruko's chest and started to kiss her._

"I can see why Makoto hates Tsuruko," Miki said, getting Izumi back to reality. Another strong gust of wind whipped some tan sand around their eyes.

"Why?" Izumi asked. Miki gave her a dumbfounded look.

"Come on," Miki explained herself, looking at Makoto with pity. "I mean, let's face it: Tsuruko was great, especially in bed. And that's why he hates her; she was in _everyone's_ bed." Izumi stood silent, not able to argue with that point. "As much as I love her, Tsuruko's a slut."

"But…she's a good person…" Izumi tried to argue. Miki shrugged.

"I know. …Still doesn't change the fact that she's a slut." Izumi frowned, knowing the impact that Tsuruko had in her life. Miki scratched her short brown hair as she looked around at the old campsite. "Heck, she's probably blowing some guy right now…"

-Below the mountainside…at a certain tea shop near a certain inn, somewhere downtown…-

Haruka's closed eyes tightened as she started to wake up. Lying on her ribs, she moaned slightly and brought her knees closer to her body so that she could let her feet dangle over the left side of the bed. She sniffled and scratched an itch under her left breast before snuggling deeper into the mattress.

_It's cold…_Haruka thought to herself. _Where are the blankets?_ Her body felt the same way, with her brown nipples hard on her slightly-above-average-sized breasts.

…_Wait_. Opening her eyes, she looked down at her breasts…and then her pubic area. _I'm naked._

"_Yes," Haruka murmured, softly clutching Tsuruko's long-haired and soft head close to her vagina, between her bent legs…_

Remembering this part of her sexual encounter, Haruka nervously looked around her small office/bedroom. She was on the bottom bed of her bunk bed, where she usually slept at night. The bunk bed was settled right between the wall and her desk with the fax machine. The door to the room was wide open, revealing all sorts of strange sexual toys on the floor. Haruka realized that she had a musky odor about her. She raised a hand to feel the dried sweat on her forehead, and could feel it all over her body.

"So, you're awake." Haruka snapped her head up, discovering a fully-dressed Tsuruko leaning against the door frame about ten feet away. Instantly, Haruka covered herself by crossing her arms across her chest and crossing her legs. Observing this, Tsuruko gave her a puzzled look. "Something wrong?"

"You're still here," Haruka stated out of surprise, rather than out of negative response.

"I thought it'd be a little rude to…"fuck-and-dash."" Tsuruko leaned towards Haruka a little, noticing that she was not happy. "You ok?" In response, Haruka scoffed.

"You…took advantage of me."

"You mean I raped you?" Tsuruko asked in disbelief, giving her a funny look. "I think you wanted it, too."

"I mean…" Haruka sighed. "I told you that I wasn't…myself. The…aphrodisiac…" Tsuruko stared at her intently, scrutinizing her flustered facial expressions. After a moment, she folded her arms across her chest and frowned as she realized that Haruka wasn't making the aphrodisiac up.

"Oh, shit," Tsuruko blurted out, raising a hand to her mouth. "I kind of raped you." Haruka realized that it was strange to do what she was about to do, but she looked at her sympathetically. "I'm so sorry." Tsuruko sank to her knees and clasped her hands in front of herself. "Please don't call the police." Still incredibly bewildered by the whole situation, Haruka looked away from Tsuruko's begging.

"I…I won't," she told her.

"Thank you so much!" Tsuruko rested her hands palm-side-down against the floor and bowed her head.

"Well," Haruka supposed, mulling over the sexual adventure, "it's not like I resisted or anything like that-"

"Wait," Tsuruko interrupted, realizing something as she lifted her head. "Why would you knowingly inhale an aphrodisiac?"

"I didn't _know_ it was an aphrodisiac."

"Why didn't you know?"

"It's…hard to explain." Tsuruko shrugged.

"Try me." Haruka, still covering herself stiff, sighed.

"A…_friend…_of mine replaced my ashtray with his own ashtray. I didn't know this until it happened but, apparently, his ashtray sprays an aphrodisiac into the air when you touch it." Waiting for her response, Haruka frowned as Tsuruko narrowed her eyes and gaped at her with an open-mouthed smile.

"…What?" Tsuruko scoffed loudly, amused as well as shocked. Haruka gave her an annoyed look, and then looked past her. Through the door, she could see the counter that customers would line up at to purchase her teas and snacks. Haruka made sure to cover her nipples with only one arm before using the other to point out to the counter, causing Tsuruko to turn her head to look outside the doorframe.

"It's next to the cash register, on the countertop." Haruka put her arm back over her breasts as Tsuruko got up to her feet and turned to walk to the counter. She found the silver ashtray next to the cash register, and went to pick it up. "Be careful with it!" Haruka added, making Tsuruko pause momentarily before picking up the ashtray gingerly from the sides. She made her way back to the office/bedroom, and paused at the doorframe, taking a little time to look at Haruka's mostly-naked body. "If you have a camera phone," Haruka added yet again, getting Tsuruko's attention, "you should get it out and take a picture. Or a video." Tsuruko sheepishly smirked. "Either way, it will last longer."

"Just admiring the view," Tsuruko remarked, deciding to walk past her sex toys to sit next to Haruka on the bed. Haruka shifted away slightly on her bottom, trying to not move any of her arms or legs.

"By the way, where are my clothes?"

"Out in the dining area," Tsuruko replied. "You know, in your case, I think clothes are overrated." Haruka blushed and sighed. Tsuruko played around with the ashtray in her hands, peering at it from every angle. "Aphrodisiac, huh?"

"Yes," Haruka assured her, eyeing the ashtray warily. "Do you think I'd have sex with a woman if I wasn't under the influence of something?"

"You wouldn't?" Tsuruko asked incredulously. "If a beautiful woman offers to have sex with you, you should. …That is, after you learn about the woman's motives behind the offer, of course."

"It's not like I'm a lesbian." Suddenly, Haruka groaned and covered her face with her hands. "Shit." Tsuruko looked back at her with concern, softly grasping Haruka's shoulder to comfort her.

"What's wrong?"

"I just had hours of sex with some random stranger," Haruka muttered. In anger, she swatted Tsuruko's arm away. "With you." Haruka looked at Tsuruko in complete bafflement. "It's fucked up."

"I'm sorry," Tsuruko said softly, causing Haruka to sigh deeply once again.

"Whatever," Haruka grumbled tiredly. "It's only sort of your fault." Tsuruko chuckled.

"I guess…"

_I haven't had sex in a while,_ Haruka realized, thinking about the incredible sensations she felt with Tsuruko during sex. _I really needed that…_

"You know, I think you're lying about the ashtray," Tsuruko exclaimed, looking back it. "There's no aphrodisiac here."

"Yes, there is." Tsuruko held it up to Haruka's face so that she could see the ashtray's surface.

"Well…" Having a thought, Tsuruko decided to place a finger against the curved bowl of the ashtray, where ash would fall into from a cigarette. "Maybe you actually have to use it-"

"Wait!" Haruka exclaimed, trying to take the ashtray away from Tsuruko.

Unfortunately, just as Tsuruko placed her finger against the ashtray's bowl, the aphrodisiac hissed out and sent a plume of mist straight into Haruka's face. Haruka coughed, trying to wave away the mist.

"Oh, shit!" Tsuruko giggled. She instantly moved to the far side of the bed to avoid any of the aphrodisiac. "Are you okay?" Haruka nodded, her coughs getting softer. "I guess you were telling the truth," she added, gazing at the ashtray in disbelief.

"Of course I was," Haruka grumbled. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get dressed." Tsuruko gave a small nod.

"Sure." Tsuruko got up from the bed, and stepped her way around her sex toys to get outside the room. Before leaving, she reached for the doorknob and closed the door. She looked around the teashop and, finding her bird Magic perched on the same shelf behind the counter, clicked her tongue twice. At once, Magic flew to Tsuruko and perched on her right shoulder. "Hey, Magic," Tsuruko cooed, petting her pet's feathered breast. For some reason, Magic didn't like this and fluttered her wings wildly, smacking one of them repeatedly into Tsuruko's face.

"Squawww!"

"Hey!" Tsuruko whispered, raising her hands in self-defense. "I'm sorry I took so long." Magic squawked again, sending a couple gold feathers inside Tsuruko's mouth. "Pweh," she blurt out, spitting out the feathers.

"Tsuruko?" someone called out behind her. Turning around, Tsuruko saw Haruka's face peek out behind her slightly-open office/bedroom door. "Could you help me with something?"

"Sure," Tsuruko replied. To Magic's dismay, Tsuruko shooed her away. The bird fluttered back to her usual spot while Tsuruko walked into Haruka's room. "What's…"

Pausing, Tsuruko started to smile as she observed Haruka's naked form struggle to put on her strap-on.

"…wrong?" Tsuruko finished asking. Blushing, Haruka nervously glanced up at her, her hands grasping the purple plastic rod.

"I don't know how to put this on," Haruka murmured.

"Let's see," Tsuruko said, trying to take her eyes off of Haruka's breasts as she closed the door.

-Later…at the Hinata Inn…-

After the movie, Naru and the rest of the residents left the theater, but not before Mitsune suggested that they all eat out for lunch. Kaoru happily agreed, and Keitaro and the others did not seem to mind. Mitsune asked Naru if she'd eaten out anywhere in town, to which Naru answered no. He suggested that they eat at one of the best sandwich shops in town, which was a couple blocks over to the right. Throughout their walk to the sandwich shop, Mitsune tried to engage Naru in a pleasant conversation about unimportant things, such as the sandwiches that the shop offered and other restaurants of note in the area. Of course, Kaoru kept a death grip on Naru's hand, letting go only when Naru wished to wipe off the sweat that accumulated from all the hand-holding.

For some reason, Shinobu was bothered by the question that he asked himself while they watched the movie – why did Naru want to go out with him, if it wasn't a date? Usually, he wouldn't let something like this bother him and would try to avoid making himself look like a weirdo in front of someone like Naru. However, because of his swelling desire to act more courageous, due to his birthday, Shinobu wanted to ask her this very same question so that he could understand what she saw in him and, just maybe, try to change anything girl-repelling about himself…now that he was a "man."

Unfortunately, he didn't feel as brave as he did in the morning, and he realized that it would just be incredibly awkward to ask that sort of thing in front of his fellow residents. So, Shinobu kept mostly quiet throughout the day, nibbling on his teriyaki-glazed chicken sandwich as he enjoyed lunch with his fellow residents inside the sandwich shop.

Afterwards, with Mitsune's insistence, they decided to play some video games at the local arcade, across the street. Having just enough money to pay for his roast beef sandwich, Mitsune realized that he wouldn't be able to enjoy himself. However, Naru decided to shell out a little money for the both of them, delighting Mitsune to no end. "Hugs!" he exclaimed, leaning over to Naru and engulfing her in his arms as they stood just outside the arcade. Naru took the hug in stride until Mitsune kept hugging her a few seconds longer than she liked. At that point, she promptly warned him that a punch was coming his way if he didn't let go instantly. He wisely heeded her warning.

Spending a good hour at the arcade, Keitaro finally had enough and thought that they should go back to the inn. Mitsune disagreed, believing that they should go back before dinner so that Shinobu would have enough time to cook and that they wouldn't have to get bored in their rooms. Ignoring him, Keitaro asked Naru of her opinion. She shrugged, saying that she didn't know, while also admitting that she needed to get out of her room. Mitsune called the issue settled, and suggested that they go to the local mall for a little tour. Although she was a little tired, Naru decided to take on his suggestion.

They stayed at the mall until five in the evening, and took a cable car to get back to the Hinata Inn. Finally back, the residents each went their separate ways for a half-hour before finding each other at the dining table for Shinobu's dinner. Always bored, Mitsune made another suggestion for entertainment by rolling out the karaoke cart next to the table after the meal. The residents grudgingly indulged Mitsune, singing for about a half-hour.

Finally, everyone decided to depart each other's company for the night. Mitsune and Keitaro left the table for their rooms upstairs. Kaoru told Naru that he would have stayed with her at the table, but he remembered something he had to take care of in his room and that he would be gone for an hour. That left Naru with Shinobu, who had begun to clear the dishes.

"Need some help?" Naru asked. Shinobu looked up at her eagerly and smiled.

"Sure."

-…-

"You know, I still can't believe that you cook these great meals almost every day, and now you have to clean all these dirty dishes, too."

"I know," Shinobu said frankly, handing Naru another dish to dry in front of the kitchen sink. "It's really hard, sometimes."

"And you do the laundry, too," she added. Shinobu nodded. "They should really help you out more, everyone else."

"Well, occasionally, they do." Naru took the next bowl from Shinobu and wrapped the towel around it.

_This is it, Shinobu,_ he thought to himself, glancing at her. _You're alone with her, and Kaoru's going to want to stick to her like glue, once he's done with whatever he's doing upstairs. _He looked behind himself for a second or two, seeing the darkness of the lobby outside the kitchen. _Now's the time to talk to Naru._

"Hey, Naru?"

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering…" He paused as he focused intently on the plate that he was holding in his pink dish-washing gloved hands. He could feel himself chickening out. Naru curiously glanced over at Shinobu, wondering what he wanted to talk about.

"…Yeah?" she repeated herself.

"I was just wondering…" Shinobu began, looking down at the sudsy water filled with bubbles. "What we did today…that wasn't a date, right?"

"Ummm…" Naru felt her cheeks going a little red, not expecting him to ask that sort of thing. "Well…" She tried to shrug casually. "I don't know."

_It sort-of was,_ Naru thought to herself. Once again, a bittersweet feeling built up inside her; she really was glad that Shinobu asked her out, but it felt pathetic to go out on a "date" with someone so young. And it wasn't like she was attracted to him. _He's not even a teenager,_ she recalled, when she asked how old he was at the dinner table her first day here.

"I guess it wasn't," Shinobu remarked, expecting her to feel that way.

"It _sort-of_ was," Naru suddenly blurted out. She blushed a little more, frustrated that her feelings got the better of her. Shinobu noticed this.

_She looks a little flustered…_ He widened his eyes as it dawned on him. _Could it be that…she likes me, too?_

"Naru, why'd you go out with me?"

"Uh, I don't know," she replied, avoiding his gaze while playing with the white towel in her yellow dish-washing gloves. "I mean, you asked me out, and you just strike me as a nice person. So, if one of you boys had to ask me out, I guess I would've wanted to go with someone like you." Shinobu gave a small smile at her compliment.

_I'm living with boys,_ Naru realized again. _Would each of them want to ask me out?_ _Shinobu did today…I wonder if Keitaro would…?_

"Naru…" Shinobu said softly.

_Crap,_ he thought to himself, getting a little sweaty. _I can't believe I'm going to ask this…_

_No, _Naru thought, not hearing Shinobu as she rolled her eyes, _Keitaro probably wouldn't…_

"…would you want to be my girlfriend?" he finally asked, blushing. Having heard him, Naru hesitatingly turned to Shinobu, blushing as well.

"What?" she asked softly, gaping at him with a confused look on her face. Shinobu's mouth went dry as he saw her face.

"I'm not asking you to be my girlfriend," he clarified, his soft voice cracking a little. "I was just asking hypothetically."

"Oh," Naru blurted out, her cheeks still red while she held the white towel in front of her chest.

"I'm just really shy," Shinobu admitted to her as he held another bowl in and out of the sudsy sink absentmindedly, "and I don't talk to a lot of girls. So, I figured that I could ask your opinion…you know? If you'd think that I'd be a good boyfriend."

"Oh," Naru said again. "Well, I don't know." She scoffed at herself. "It's not like I have a lot of boyfriend experience."

"How many boyfriends have you had?"

"Ummm…" Naru looked away, getting embarrassed at her social life. "Not many."

"Well, at least you've _had_ a boyfriend or a girlfriend," Shinobu murmured, leaning down against the wet countertop.

"Uh, actually…" Looking over at her sideways, he belatedly realized what she was saying. Once it hit him, Shinobu turned quickly to face Naru. His hand still holding the bowl in the sudsy water, he foolishly turned with the bowl in his hand, which sent water spilling over the sink and countertop.

"You've never had a boyfriend?" he asked. Widening her eyes, Naru backed away slightly from the wave of water. The water dripped down the cabinet doors, with some of it getting on the floor."Damn it," he muttered, letting go of the bowl.

"I got it," Naru said, getting down on both knees. Shinobu did the same.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Shinobu and Naru knelt on the kitchen floor in silence for a few moments, as she wiped the towel in right-to-left circular motions over the water.

"You know," Shinobu began, looking at her wipe away the floor in front of him, "it's my birthday today."

"Oh," she said simply, keeping her gaze down. "Happy birthday."

_That's random…_she remarked negatively to herself, starting to get bothered by all these awkward issues that Shinobu kept sprouting.

"Wait," she added. She looked up at Shinobu. "Why didn't Mitsune or the others say anything about it?"

"They don't know," Shinobu responded. Naru looked at him with concern.

"Why don't you say anything? I mean, it's your birthday." He shrugged.

"I don't know. It doesn't really matter-"

"Of course it matters," Naru voiced, frowning at Shinobu's apathy. "You get…birthday cake. Birthday presents."

"Well…being with you is a good enough present," he remarked. Naru scoffed and shook her head as she turned her attention to the water on the cabinet doors next to her.

"Aw," she cooed in a joking manner, wiping down the cabinet frame. She could see Shinobu look back towards the lobby out of the corner of her eye before turning back to her. "That's cu-" Shinobu got closer to Naru, getting her attention as she turned back to face him. Before she could finish saying the word "cute," she grunted slightly, her vision and mouth blocked by Shinobu's red face.


	11. H, L, & H a W on Someone's BDay Pt 4

Author's Note:

You know, I think I got a little too carried away…sexually and disturbingly. I probably won't change any of what I'm talking about, but I just thought I'd let you guys know that some of what a couple of the characters do/think in this chapter…is a little fucked up. Obviously, if some of you feel that what a character did here was just too perverted/unimaginable, voice your opinions and confirm what I have also thought as well. …And I probably won't update this story anytime soon (school), which I'm sorry about. Oh well.

Chapter 11: Hating, Loving, and Hugging a Woman on Someone's Birthday – Part 4

At first, Shinobu just pressed his lips against Naru's. Then, feeling no resistance, he decided to slip his tongue inside. Naru grunted softly again, feeling something else that she'd never felt before in her life. Shinobu probed lightly inside her mouth for a few seconds, before exploring a little more. He brought his pink-gloved hands onto Naru's cheeks, so that he could plunge his tongue even deeper inside, causing her to groan and roll her eyes around under her eyelids.

_My first kiss, _Shinobu and Naru both thought to themselves. However, another thought occurred to Naru…

"_Did you know, that when a couple gets into Tokyo U, they love each other forever?" the young boy asked the young Naru. Before she could reply, Naru felt his lips press quickly on her cheek, making her blush. "Let's go to Tokyo U together, okay Naru?"_

Naru opened her eyes without thinking, wondering why she would think about that memory now. Suddenly, she felt something pulsing against her thigh, interrupting her thoughts. Looking down, Naru widened her eyes, seeing that it was her right hand that was shaking.

_What the hell?_ Naru thought to herself. Her right hand continued to shake for a few moments, before forming into a fist against her will. _What the…what am I doing?_ Her forearm and elbow followed, along with her entire right arm, as the arm cocked back involuntarily – under the control of another part of her mind, perhaps?

"Mmph!" Naru said into Shinobu's mouth, meaning to say "Shit!" Her right hand rocketed straight at Shinobu's face.

_No!_ Naru screamed inwardly, trying to stop herself. Before the fist landed, somehow, she regained control of her arm. Unfortunately, she was only able to uncork her fist as she slapped Shinobu. He gasped and withdrew instantly.

"Shit!" Naru blurted out, her face now red with shame. "I'm sorry!"

_Please don't cry,_ she wished, imagining the tears coming down Shinobu's insecure face. To her surprise, a happy smile was planted there instead.

"It's okay," he whispered excitedly, not looking the least bit sad. Looking up at the sink, Shinobu quickly stood up and resumed the dishwashing and dish drying. "Can I be alone?" Naru looked up at him helplessly. "I can finish the dishwashing; you don't have to worry about it. Just leave the gloves here and go upstairs." Settling uneasily up from her knees, she looked at Shinobu anxiously.

"Are you sure?" He nodded in an animated fashion.

"Yeah, don't worry."

"…Ok." Naru took off her gloves and put them next to the sink, looking at Shinobu's face. He ignored her, busy scrubbing the inside of bowl in the sudsy water. "Good night."

"Good night," Shinobu returned, not looking at Naru. She stood next to him for a few moments, before clearing her throat and walking quickly out of the kitchen. Shinobu listened to her bare footsteps, imagining the skin sticking off the floor. His mind quickly imagined her walking naked as well.

_Stop that,_ he thought naughtily to himself. He continued to listen, finally hearing her feet go up the staircase. Then, Shinobu allowed himself to think about the kiss.

"Oh my God," he quickly whispered, imagining her saliva inside her mouth. …Realizing that they swapped tongues. "Yesss!" he hissed, shaking his wet fist jubilantly as he walked around the kitchen with newfound energy.

-In Naru's room…-

"Oh my God," Naru muttered, sliding her door shut.

_I can't believe I kissed Shinobu!_ She groped angrily at her face. _What is wrong with me?_

_You liked it,_ a little voice said inside her head, _didn't you?_

_Shit…does that make me a pedophile?_ Naru fearfully asked herself. Suddenly, she stood frozen with dread, imagining the newspaper headlines after Shinobu blurts out their secret affair:

_Teenage girl rapes little boy…Young woman charged with sexual assault and low morals…13-year-old boy: I had a relationship with a 17-year-old girl!_

"Bleh!" Naru blurted out, shaking her body to get rid of the headlines. "Calm down, calm down."

_He kissed you, not the other way around,_ she reasoned. _It's not like you wanted to kiss him._ Thinking about the kiss, she blushed. _I can't believe he was my first kiss…he's literally a boy. _Naru could still feel his tongue probing inside her mouth, causing her to feel conflicted. …_Not that he was a bad kisser._ She put her fingers to her lips, remembering his touch. _He was good. The _kiss_ was good._ _…Not that I would know who a good kisser is._

Naru shook her head violently. _It's wrong! I can't kiss him again! I should be kissing boys my own age._

_You're only four years apart, _the little voice reasoned. _If you guys were older, there would be nothing wrong with your relationship._

_No, it's wrong!_ Naru fired back. _Besides…_ Her mind raced to an unknown sandbox in an unknown playground, where she once played with a little boy…

_Oh…_the little voice realized derisively. _That's right; you can't kiss anyone, except for your promised boy, right?_ Naru buried her face into her hands. _Don't worry, Naru. Your promised boy is trying to find you right now, and he hasn't kissed a soul…_

_Shut up,_ she thought angrily to herself, pacing around the room.

_In fact, he's outside the inn right now…waiting for you! _the small voice inside her head continued to taunt. _Aw, look at him! He's still wearing the same clothes from your special playdate-_

Without warning, Naru snapped and kicked the air in front of her, not noticing the low table. It lifted slightly and was pushed back with force, landing with a loud clutter a few inches away from its original position.

"Naru?" a muffled voice sounded behind the wall next door. She slowly looked down at her right foot, noticing a large and glistening red gash across the front, starting behind her front toe and ending behind her third toe. The door to her room slid open, revealing Mitsune. "You ok?" Still red in the face, Naru nodded.

"I just ran into my table." Mitsune's eyes widened as he took a look at her foot.

"Holy crap," he exclaimed, walking towards her and squatting down. He reached out and rubbed around the gash. "Your foot is really fucked up." Mitsune looked up at Naru. "What'd you do, run into the table?"

"Something like that." He got up and walked to the door.

"Wait here, I got a first aid kit." A few moments later, he returned and held up the kit in front of his chest. On the front, Naru could read "Shinobu" scrawled on the corner in black marker. "A little something from our resident chef." She looked away, recalling her kiss…and _then_ recalling her near-kiss with Mitsune. "Sit down on your futon so we can take a look at your foot." Naru sighed as she obeyed and walked over to her futon, sitting down at the foot of it.

"Ow," she said softly, with Mitsune spreading healing ointment on her cut. "You know, I could do this myself."

"Obviously," Mitsune remarked matter-of-factly. Looking at the clear gel on his fingertips, he made a face. "You have any tissues?" he asked, glancing around.

"On the table." Seeing them, he got up and took the box, sitting back down on her futon. He took a few tissues and wiped his fingers off.

"You ok?" Mitsune wondered aloud all of a sudden. By now, Naru had calmed down and her face was no longer red.

"Yeah."

"All right." He looked back at the first aid kit, and then at her cut. "I don't think bandages can cover that."

"Use the gauze, then!" a voice yelped from above, startling both Naru and Mitsune.

"Bitch!" Mitsune cursed without thinking, snapping his neck to the hole in the ceiling. Out of the darkness, a blond head popped inside the room. It was Kaoru. "Oh," he said flatly, looking for the gauze. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for Naru," Kaoru exclaimed, dropping down from the ceiling. Naru widened her eyes and gasped, as he was heading right for her.

"Geez!" she blurted out, laying down on her back as fast as she could. Kaoru landed on his feet, with each foot on the floor next to her ribs. A moment later, he decided to plop his bottom down on her stomach. Naru reflexively shot up, her face very close to Kaoru's.

"Hello," he cooed pleasantly.

"Hey," Naru returned, blushing at having another male's face so close to her own.

"Hey," someone called down from the ceiling, causing everyone to look up. It was Keitaro. "What's going on?" he asked from high up, under his furnace table.

"I'm going to sleep with Naru," Kaoru replied. Naru turned to him in fear and confusion, wondering what the heck Kaoru was talking about.

"Oh, right," Keitaro remembered glumly, recalling Makoto's absence from the inn. "Do you have to sleep with her? I don't think she'll like it."

"Why wouldn't she?" Kaoru pouted, looking very sad.

"Well…Naru's a…female, and you're a male."

"I know that, silly!" Keitaro sighed.

"Didn't Makoto talk to you about…not touching Naru?" Mitsune asked. Kaoru nodded vigorously.

"That's why I have my newest invention!" he exclaimed, fishing something out of his pocket. It was black, metallic, and round, in the shape of a hockey puck. He held it high above his head for Keitaro and the others to see, before placing it lightly on Naru's stomach. "Don't move, Naru," Kaoru cautioned her, bouncing off of her body. Out of his other pocket, he took out a black remote control the size of a cell phone, which had an antenna, a red button, and a green button. "It is _not_ recommended."

"Wait," Naru exclaimed. Unfortunately, Kaoru took his finger and pushed the red button. She gasped, feeling the black disk vibrate. Suddenly, unbelievably, two large white-gloved hands popped out of the disk with thin and black mechanical arms, and fastened onto Naru's breasts, over her t-shirt. Then, out of the bottom of the disk, another gloved hand popped out from the other side of the disk. This hand reached down and gripped Naru's groin with an iron grasp, its thumb pressing against her pubic region while its fingers squeezed against her buttocks. "What the fuck?" she screeched.

"All systems go!" Kaoru declared, pushing the green button now.

"All systems go," a small speaker inside the disk echoed, in a mechanical voice, "naughty areas secure for twelve hours."

Through the whole thing, Mitsune looked incredibly bewildered, as did Keitaro.

"…That was weird," Mitsune finally blurted out. Feeling violated by this contraption, Naru looked down at her body in horror.

"What the hell!" she screamed, her hands shaking. She looked up to glare at Mitsune. "Why didn't you do anything?" Mitsune started to look all around, backing away while avoiding her fiery eyes.

"It all happened so quickly," he replied, "and it was all very surreal…" Fed up, she turned to Kaoru.

"Kaoru," Naru pleaded, "take this thing off right now."

"Come on, Kaoru," Keitaro added sternly. "Take it off."

"I'm sorry, Naru," Kaoru said, shaking his head. "Once my invention says that it is on for twelve hours, you cannot take it off for twelve hours. It's impossible."

"Damn it, Kaoru!" she snarled. Reaching for her chest, Naru tugged at the gloved hands with all her might. The hands did not move. "Shit!"

"Someone's getting a little fussy," Kaoru said to Mitsune. Showing him the remote control, he revealed a secret blue button on the side and pushed it before Mitsune could react and stop him. Mitsune looked at Naru, wondering what else Kaoru had in store for her. They, along with Keitaro, waited for a few moments, but nothing happened.

"What does that button do?" he asked Kaoru.

"It relaxes the subject," Kaoru replied, pointing to Naru.

"Some…somebody take it off," she started to slur. Naru's eyelids were now half-closed, her arms hanging at her side. She closed her eyes and fell on her side.

"Naru!" Keitaro and Mitsune each called out. Mitsune rushed to her side, while Keitaro pulled his head back from under the furnace table unsuccessfully, hitting his head and exclaiming in pain before hurrying out of his room.

"Naru, are you ok?" Mitsune asked, kneeling next to her on her futon. He shook her arm. "Naru?"

"Don't worry," Kaoru said, jumping to Mitsune's side, "she's sleeping." He pointed at her chest, which moved up and down with her breathing. "You see? She's breathing normally."

"So, she's okay?" Mitsune made sure. In response, Kaoru nodded. "All right, then. Now…" Suddenly, he roughly grabbed Kaoru by his shirt and brought him closer, face-to-face. "Take that invention off Naru."

"I told you," Kaoru responded, looking to the door as Keitaro jogged inside the room, "I can't take it off until twelve hours have passed."

"Is she okay?" Keitaro asked.

"Yeah, she's just sleeping," Mitsune replied without looking at Keitaro. "Kaoru, why can't you take it off?"

"I didn't make a button or a program to override my invention," Kaoru explained. "Once I tell it to execute, it does what it's been commanded to do and can't be undone until the mission is completed." Mitsune sighed and let his head fall into Kaoru's.

"Kaoru, we keep telling you to make override programs for your inventions," Keitaro chastised.

"I don't see what the problem is. It's not like I made an invention to kill Naru." Putting his hand in his pocket, Kaoru fished out a folded piece of paper and unfurled it in front of Mitsune. "I've made the initial blueprints for my Naru-killing machine, but I probably won't begin construction on a prototype until next month." Keitaro and Mitsune gave each other baffled looks, before turning them onto Kaoru.

"You're going to make a Naru-killing machine?" Mitsune asked incredulously.

"Why not?" Kaoru asked, cocking his head to the side. "I've already made killing machines for the other residents-"

"Wait, what the hell?" Keitaro objected, as both he and Mitsune fearfully took a step back from Kaoru. Kaoru froze with his mouth open, realizing that he said too much.

"Ummm…" the young inventor hummed, looking away innocently, "I wouldn't worry _too_ much about it…"

"You just said that you've made machines that were made to kill us!" Mitsune exclaimed. He stared at Kaoru with his eyes wide open. "Why would you do that?"

"It's simply a precaution," Kaoru replied with his hands held up in self-defense.

"Look, get rid of those machines," Keitaro demanded, pointing a finger at Kaoru.

"If it makes you feel better, I've also made pleasuring machines for you guys."

"We don't care," Keitaro whined. "Just get rid of those-"

"Wait," Mitsune interrupted, putting a hand on Keitaro's shoulder, "pleasuring machines?" Kaoru nodded exuberantly with a big smile on his face. "What are those, exactly?"

"Mitsune!"

"Relax," Mitsune said in an annoyed tone. "Obviously, Kaoru's going to have to get rid of those killing machines. I just wanted to know a pleasuring machine is." Keitaro rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"For my pleasuring machine prototype," Kaoru began, "I decided to make a robot capable of pleasuring your every want and need."

"…Have you made one for me yet?" Mitsune asked.

"Not yet. I have a blueprint of it on me." Kaoru took another folded blueprint out and gave Mitsune a look. On it, there were several sketches and diagrams of a naked woman.

"Nice," Mitsune remarked, nodding in approval. "This machine is already providing me with pleasure."

"Seriously, Kaoru?" Keitaro sounded.

"According to my research," Kaoru continued, ignoring Keitaro while looking at Mitsune, "you find the most pleasure in the company of women."

"That's not very hard to research," Mitsune joked to Keitaro. "Am I right?" Keitaro responded with a hard stare, which stifled any laughter that Mitsune planned to expel.

"Specifically, you like to sexually explore women. So, I made a robot fully capable of pleasuring you sexually."

"I like this," Mitsune commented. "I think this machine could really pleasure me."

"In addition, I've noticed that you like liquor. For this, I gave her – the machine – a fragrance that is sweet yet alcoholic. I made her smell like a strawberry daiquiri."

"You can really do that?" Mitsune asked in disbelief, looking even closer at Kaoru's blueprint.

"I've also made a beverage-dispensing system, which allows a drink of your choice to be housed inside the machine's breasts."

"What?" Keitaro asked, looking at the blueprint as well with some interest.

"To drink from the machine, you can squeeze the beverage out of the breast and into a glass, or you can drink it straight from the "tap."" All of a sudden, Mitsune grabbed Kaoru by the shirt once again. This time, however, Mitsune looked to be in a begging mood.

"When…" He paused, wiping some saliva dripping out of the corner of his mouth. "When can you begin construction?" Kaoru shrugged.

"It's hard to say," the young inventor replied. "I do not know much about women, liquor, and sex, and I am not particularly interested in these topics yet." Mitsune looked blankly at Kaoru for the longest time, not saying a word.

"Mitsune?" Kaoru asked, wondering if Mitsune was ok.

"Kaoru, it seems that I've been hit with a heavy dose of depression," Mitsune said, deciding to lie down on his side. "Could you send your Mitsune-killing machine in here, please?"

"Oh…God," Keitaro moaned in frustration. "Look, just forget about these stupid killing and pleasuring machines!" Calming his anger by walking around the room, he looked at Naru, who was sleeping peacefully on her futon with the white-gloved hands still attached to her. "What should we do about Naru?"

"Well, we can't do anything right now," Mitsune reasoned, getting up off the floor and looking at Naru. "Kaoru's invention isn't going to get off of her anytime soon." He looked at Keitaro. "Maybe we should just let her sleep and wait for the invention to come off." Keitaro sighed.

"Are you sure that we can't take it off?"

"If you want to try," Kaoru voiced happily, "be my guest." Keitaro gave him a look, and then looked back at Naru.

"Couldn't hurt," Keitaro decided, walking over and kneeling next to her. He looked over her chest, and then her groin, feeling a little strange.

_On second thought, this is weird,_ Keitaro told himself. _Should I touch her…breast? Her butt?_ Hesitatingly, he decided to work on the mechanical hands that were attached to her breasts. Keitaro reached for the hand on Naru's right breast, and tried to lift it off without touching her. To his surprise, he was able to lift Naru's torso off the futon, as if she got up on her own. Naru's peaceful face rolled in front of Keitaro's, causing him to blush. _That didn't work…_ He put her back down gently using the mechanical hand, still attached to her right breast like a magnet. _Maybe…I _should_ touch her…_ Keitaro reached his left hand over near Naru's breast, preparing to put his fingers underneath the mechanical hand's fingers while trying to lift the mechanical hand off with his right hand. His left hand inched closer and closer to her right breast. He could feel the fabric of her shirt with his fingertips-

"You know what?" Keitaro suddenly exclaimed, retracting his hands and getting up. He turned around and was greeted by a smirk from Mitsune, and a confused look from Kaoru.

"What?" Mitsune asked teasingly, folding his arms across his chest.

"Maybe we should just let her sleep," Keitaro said quickly, his face red.

"All right," Mitsune agreed, picking up his first-aid kit and turning to the door.

"Okay," Kaoru chirped. As Mitsune walked next to Keitaro, he leaned into his ear.

"How was it?" Mitsune whispered as they stopped outside Naru's room.

"I didn't do anything," Keitaro snapped quietly, going to close the door. He stopped, however, looking back at Naru. Mitsune looked back and discovered Kaoru snuggling next to Naru in her futon, with an arm draped across her ribs.

"Good night, you guys!" Kaoru called out. Keitaro and Mitsune blankly looked at Kaoru, before looking at each other with the same thought in their heads. "What are you guys doing?" he asked, seeing them walk back inside Naru's room.

-Meanwhile…in the mountains-

Makoto, after a rigorous and satisfying first day at camp, was finally asleep in one of the many bunk beds in one of several camp lodges at the mountainside campsite the kendo training camp was held. However, he was restless, tossing and turning in his bed as his mind continued to work some things out…

-…-

Groaning as he was lying on the cold floor, the young warrior twisted his head left and right. There appeared to be a very bright light above him, shining into his eyes. Makoto turned away from the light, finally finding relief and darkness under his eyelids. He opened his eyes and looked around, noticing that everything was dark except for the lamp, which hung from a cable wire and shone light onto Makoto's naked form.

"Hey," a voice whispered in front of him. Looking down and a little to his right, Makoto discovered a plethora of blue butterflies on the floor in the exact shape of a female human body. The "legs" sat a couple of inches away from Makoto's, as the body of butterflies was lying down in the opposite direction. The "feet" were right next to Makoto's right hand. Still lying down on the ground, Makoto observed the butterflies with awe. He noticed long strawberry-blonde hair flowing uncovered from the head and, as he looked down the entire female form, saw that there was one other place that a butterfly was not present – her right ankle, on the right big toe side. On the right ankle, there was also a blue butterfly, but in the form of a tattoo. Just as he realized this, the butterflies started to flutter off, flowing into the darkness and leaving behind a young and naked teenager. The teenager opened her honey eyes and sat up, propping herself with her hands on the floor while revealing her lively chest to Makoto.

"Izumi," Makoto blurted out, starting to feel his penis grow harder on him. He looked down from her honey eyes and sweet smile to find the tattoo on her right breast. Izumi saw this, and covered that part of herself with her right hand before he could see it.

"Like the tattoo?" Izumi asked, rubbing her right ankle against his bare thigh.

"I don't know," he replied, still staring at her right breast. "I don't know what it looks like."

"Maybe…it's another butterfly," she supposed in a lighthearted manner. Looking down at her chest, Izumi removed her right hand and revealed another blue butterfly, which slowly flapped its wings at Makoto. She blew at the butterfly, causing it to flutter off into the darkness. There was no tattoo on Izumi's right breast, which disappointed Makoto. He felt his penis go limp. Seeing this, Izumi lifted her right foot towards his groin and rubbed his penis with her orange-pink heel. "There we go," she whispered softly, feeling it grow hard again. Now, she started to rub her ankle against his penis, moving her butterfly tattoo against the shaft. This definitely turned Makoto on, as his penis was now fully erect. The next thing he knew, Izumi was riding on top of his erection as he laid back onto the floor.

"Izumi…" Makoto breathed out, feeling her slick and tight vagina squeezing against his member. He'd never felt anything like this before. He reached out to feel her breasts and nipples, and Izumi leaned forward, making it easier for him to grope her. Makoto looked at Izumi's face gratefully, wanting to enjoy her body forever. He looked down at the sight of his shaft being enveloped by her body, getting aroused by this and her soft moans. As he started to look back up her body, however, he noticed that something strange was happening. Locks of her hair, which wavered back and forth above her damp breasts, started to turn black at the ends. As he followed the black color moving up the strawberry-blonde strands and taking over, he felt the perky yet small breasts in his hands grow larger. Makoto gaped in horror at the suddenly black hair, and looked at Izumi's face. He gasped as a dark brown color replaced the honey in Izumi's eyes; he was looking at Tsuruko's face.

"Yes," Tsuruko moaned, pressing her hands against his as they now grasped her breasts, and not Izumi's.

"Ts-Tsuruko," Makoto mumbled, frozen in horror with his eyes wide open. He could feel himself getting closer and closer to orgasm while Izumi rode him, but now that Tsuruko was on him, he felt himself getting neither limp nor harder. His erection pulsed quickly with blood, but stayed at the same pace, waiting for Makoto's mind to register what he was seeing.

"What's wrong, brother?" she asked, looking at him with concern while lifting herself off of his member.

"Oh, God," he muttered in utter terror and disgust. He tried to reach out to his erection, but his hands trembled and paused as they got near. Tsuruko took this time to grasp her brother's penis herself, like a joystick.

"Gotcha penis!" Tsuruko exclaimed, tapping the tip of it with her thumb. Examining his penis for a few moments, she decided to pull on it. Hard, as if it were a stick stuck in the mud.

"Sister, please," Makoto pleaded. The base of his penis started to feel strange. He looked at her in fear, until she finally pulled up her right hand. He dropped his jaw as he saw his penis in her hand, completely separated from his body. Looking down at his groin, Makoto couldn't believe his eyes. Below his pubic hair, there was simply a mound of flesh that sloped back until his anus. He looked like a woman, except he had no female reproductive organs. Makoto reached out with his hand and felt his now-smooth groin.

"You just need to clear your head," his sister said. Looking at her, he discovered that Tsuruko was now "wearing" his penis. It attached magically to her skin, replacing her pubic hair. "How about a mind-fuck?" Before Makoto knew what was happening, Tsuruko stood up and forced him to kneel in front of her. Guiding her new penis, she rubbed it against his forehead and tried to find an opening.

"No," Makoto muttered weakly, trying to push up against her forearms to no avail. Tsuruko continued to rub the penis up and down the forehead, coaxing it to open for her.

"Come on. I know your mind wants it." A few seconds later, sure enough, a slimy and red slit opened up on Makoto's forehead, allowing Tsuruko to get a little of the tip inside. Against his will, Makoto groaned in pleasure. "That's good enough," she growled hungrily.

"Ahhhh!" Makoto screamed, as his sister forced the full length of the penis inside his brain. He scrunched his brow in agonizing pain, as the two halves of his mind wrapped around his own penis. His eyes fluttered uncontrollably while blood and brain fluid dripped down his face.

"It's okay," she consoled Makoto, staying still as she stroked his hair. She waited for a few minutes before slowly rocking back and forth in his brain an inch or two, so that he could get used to the pain. Makoto moaned again, as pleasure and confusion racked inside his head. Pretty soon, Tsuruko was able to push inside and pull out the entire shaft in a quick and rhythmic motion. "Oh, God, I'm gonna come," she whispered, quickening her pace. Grasping her brother's head with both hands, she forced the forehead to come to her. Tsuruko shoved the entire shaft inside his mind and grunted, expelling long strings of semen as she experienced her orgasm. Makoto rolled his eyes in pleasure, letting the sticky warmth slip inside every crevice of his brain. She pushed away his head, and he fell onto his side, the opening now gone from his forehead but his sex still clouding his thoughts. "Who are you?" Tsuruko asked as she turned around, seeing someone come up behind her. Without warning, the stranger cocked back her right arm and punched Tsuruko in the face. With a pop, Tsuruko's head flew off of her torso like a bullet into the darkness. Her body stood still for a moment or two, before collapsing in front of Makoto. The head rolled back into the light, with a surprised look planted on its face. Makoto picked it up and looked at it, and then looked at the stranger. Walking into the light, she cracked her knuckles and knelt down beside him, looking at him with concern.

"Naru," he said, recognizing her. She smiled at him, and reached out to put her hand against his forehead with her palm. Makoto shuddered, feeling his mind start to clear. Once he was back to his normal self, Naru withdrew her hand.

"Does that feel better?" she asked.

"Yes," Makoto replied, "thank you." Naru looked down and felt his groin, causing him to look down as well. "My penis…" She turned around and plucked it off of Tsuruko's headless body. "Can you put it back?" he asked with uncertainty.

"Of course. It belongs to you, doesn't it?" He nodded. Feeling the still-sticky semen in her hand from the penis, Naru carefully put it back in its place, pushing the skin and penis back together. His testicles soon dropped from her hand as she finished putting Makoto's penis back onto his body, attached to his penis as they had been before.

"Thank you," Makoto said to Naru, standing up on his feet.

"You're welcome," she said back to him, getting closer to him. She examined his penis closely, massaging it. "Is it working again?" In response, Makoto felt himself go hard in her hands.

"I think so." Naru kneeled down in front of his erection, stroking it some more.

"Let's make sure," she said. With that, Naru licked his penis from the base of the shaft to the tip before sucking on it. Makoto closed his eyes with pleasure, but a fearful thought returned to him. He opened his eyes and looked around for Tsuruko. To his surprise, he couldn't find her body. Or her head. He was all alone under the lamplight, looking down at Naru as she gently suckled on him.

-Back at the Hinata Inn…-

Naru continued to breathe in and out peacefully, sleeping under the control of Kaoru's invention. As the clocks hit one o'clock in the morning, the door to her room slid open. The intruder crept inside and softly slid the door closed. Walking up to Naru, Kaoru tiptoed around the futon before snuggling inside the covers behind her body. With a special ring on the middle finger of his left hand, he wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed, increasing the pressure he applied with his hug incrementally. He stopped immediately when his ring vibrated against Naru's ribs, telling him that any additional pressure would cause her ribs to break under his crushing hug. Kaoru sighed happily as the skin contact between him and Naru made him feel warm and snuggly.

"Error," a mechanical voice suddenly boomed, seemingly coming from Naru. Kaoru jumped up in surprise and looked down at Naru's stomach, noticing that a red light was blinking on his hockey-puck-looking device. To avoid waking the other residents, he quickly pushed a button below the blinking red light to have his invention go into silent mode. On the display above the light, the rest of the message scrolled across in bright red: "Circuitry malfunction in device – will cause large explosion." Kaoru widened his eyes.

"Uh oh," he whispered.

"Emergency shutdown automatically activated in case of malfunction. Shutting down…" the display continued to read. Sure enough, the mechanical hands retracted themselves from Naru's breasts and groin, sliding back inside the disc. Since she was sleeping on her side, his invention fell off of her stomach and settled softly onto her futon. If one looked closely at the fabric of Naru's shirt, one would notice the tiny hole where Kaoru's invention injected his sleeping solution. Sighing sadly this time, Kaoru reached over her ribs and picked it up, putting it into his pocket along with his special ring.

"Oh well," he said softly. He went back to hugging Naru while trying to sleep. However, a few moments later, Kaoru couldn't help but lift his head from Naru's back and peek over her right shoulder to look at her interesting chest lumps. He looked at them for a few seconds before tentatively leaning back down behind her back. Then, he got back up again to look at the door to her room, making sure that it was closed. He looked up at the ceiling as well, seeing nothing but darkness. Kaoru reached out to Naru's waist, playing with the end of her t-shirt. After toying with the fabric a little more, he flipped the shirt back slightly, revealing a little skin. His small brown hand caressed the slight dip of her side, below the ribs, and then touched down inside the valley of skin, where her spine would be. With curiosity getting the better of Kaoru, as always, he decided to push up her t-shirt, all the way to her underarms. He gazed at Naru's bare upper back, where her pink bra strap was fastened. Kaoru started to reach for her bra, when he remembered something…

"_Kaoru," Makoto said, looking at the young inventor straight in the eyes. "While I'm gone, remember this."_

"_Okay."_

"_Do not touch Naru in an inappropriate manner." Kaoru gave a confused look._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Just don't touch her breasts…" Makoto cupped his hands and pushed the air in front of his chest. "And her groin." Then, Makoto pointed to his own crotch._

Coming back to reality, Kaoru laid there in the moon-lit darkness, playing with the clasp on Naru's bra as he stared at it blankly.

"Hmmm, should I listen to Makoto?" he asked himself quietly. He marveled at her skin, noticing its soft feel. He thought about how different it was compared to his own, in regards to color. The color of his skin and Makoto's was one of the first things he thought about with Makoto when he first met him, noticing the special contrast between his light-brown shade and Makoto's pale color. He felt a similar way about Naru's skin. "Maybe I should_…_" he thought for a second, playing with the bra clasp between his thumb and index finger. To his surprise, however, Kaoru twisted the clasp just enough, separating the bra strap at Naru's back. He hesitantly grasped the hanging strap, and pulled it towards his own body, noticing some give from her chest. The bra cups landed in front of his face, giving off a strange warmth and smell. Curious, Kaoru held one of the cups to his face and breathed in deeply. Looking back at Naru, he noticed that the back of her torso was now completely bare, except for her rolled-up t-shirt. He anxiously tugged at her waist to get her closer to his own body. She rolled over, revealing the front of her torso and causing Kaoru to lean back a little in shock. Instead of widening his eyes, like he usually did at something interesting or strange, Kaoru narrowed them slightly. He reached over her chest and pushed more of the t-shirt upwards to reveal more of the breasts. With both hands hovering over her chest, he started to lower them. Instead of the usual curiosity that Kaoru had in life, it was…something else that drew him to Naru's slightly-protruding nipples and round breasts. Pausing, he glanced up at her face, noting its still-peaceful features. He knew that she wouldn't know what he did, but still…he felt something new inside his chest and head…a tightness. A feeling that he was wrong about something…about what he was about to do. Trying to clear his mind, he looked back down at her chest. Looking over the unique curves of flesh in front of him, Kaoru let the new feeling of exploration overpower his new feeling of guilt and concern. He laid his hands onto her breasts and let every part of his fingers, palm, and thumb grasp the soft flesh.

_Oh…_ Kaoru thought startlingly to himself, instead of exclaiming it out loud, like he usually would if he was pleasantly surprised. He closed his eyes, letting this strange sensation course through his body. An instant later, he opened them and looked down at his crotch. _Something's growing,_ he thought alarmingly, quickly unbuttoning his shorts and unzipping them. Pushing down his boxers as he still laid close to Naru, he realized that he was experiencing his first erection. A bar of moonlight crossed his penis, showing him how it pulsed with blood. For the first time in a long while, Kaoru blushed self-consciously and glanced at the door again, wondering if anybody was watching. He even looked up again at the ceiling, but couldn't see anything through the hole. He looked back down at Naru's chest, entranced by the sight. Inventions and ideas no longer filled his mind; only Naru did. To get more comfortable, he stood up quickly to Naru's left to take off his shorts and boxers. As these articles of clothing fell down his knees and rested on his feet, Kaoru slowly knelt down next to her nearly-naked torso. Tentatively, he reached his left hand over Naru's chest and repeatedly squeezed her left breast. Looking down at his erection, he finally grasped it in his right hand. Kaoru opened his mouth slightly in anticipation before rubbing his penis around. He began to stroke it, and decided that that was a better feeling. Kaoru didn't feel hornier and hornier as he continued to fondle himself; he just felt right, as if this was supposed to happen. Gazing back at Naru's amazing breasts, he could feel the strange sensation that centered all of his current feelings inside his penis grow. It did not get more pleasurable; it just became more urgent. No words or complex thoughts entered his head through his dry rubbing, but he knew, sooner or later, that something would happen with his penis if he kept doing what he was doing. And it had to happen. There was no stopping it.

"Oh, Naru," Kaoru murmured, simultaneously rubbing her left breast and his hot erection even more quickly. Unconsciously, he shifted his body and aimed further away from Naru, parallel to her body next to the futon. As he continued to masturbate, while spreading his legs and moving his lower legs underneath his thighs, the moment came. Still stroking his manhood, Kaoru closed his eyes and let it come out.


	12. Refreshments for Shinobu and Naru

Author's Note:

If it wasn't already obvious from my huge time between updates, I should probably let you know that I may not complete this fanfic. But, hey, I definitely want to. So, who knows what will happen?

Chapter 12: Refreshments for Shinobu and Naru

Moaning softly, Naru opened her eyes to the faint morning sunlight sprawled around her room. She found herself looking up at the hole in her ceiling, which made her smile a little. Some dust permeated the air in front of her face. Lifting her head slightly to look at her door, she saw that it was closed. Naru put her head back down and rubbed at her chest, when last night's strangeness came back to her. Remembering Kaoru and his invention, she looked down at herself. To her surprise, no white-gloved hands grasped her breasts or groin. She had on the t-shirt, bra, underwear, and shorts that she had on the night before. There was no black, hockey-puck-looking thing on her stomach, or anywhere in her room, as far as Naru could see.

"That's weird," she murmured to herself.

_Speaking of weird…_ Naru scrunched up her nose and narrowed her eyes as she turned to her left, noticing a strange smell. Leaning over her futon, she found the source of the smell coming from the hardwood floor right next to the blanket. There appeared to be nothing there on the floor next to her that would emit a smell of any sort. Still, Naru leaned even closer to the floor. She put her hands down against the floor, on either side of the source of the smell, to support herself as she lightly pressed the tip of her nose against the floor and sniffed deeply. Raising her head slightly, Naru smiled as she confirmed the smell in her mind.

"Bananas…"

-…-

Kaoru woke up in his room, his eyes hurting. He hadn't gotten enough sleep last night. Reaching for his closing eyes, he frowned as he absentmindedly jabbed himself with a spray bottle that he left in his hand while he slept. The bottle was labeled "Kaoru's Cleaning Solution – Banana Scented." Giving out a little sigh, he let go of the cleaning solution and snuggled himself more securely within his futon, bringing up the blanket under his neck.

_I hope she doesn't notice anything, _Kaoru wondered anxiously, thinking about what he did in Naru's room last night…

-…-

After experiencing his first ejaculation, he opened his eyes to see a few streams of white jutting out on the floor, with a small pool slowly forming under the tip of his still-hard penis. A crushing feeling entered his mind suddenly, like he was a horrible person. Nervously glancing over at Naru, Kaoru felt this feeling multiply as his cheeks burned. He knew that he had done something wrong. Trying to calm himself down, he looked around the room while coming up with a plan to get out of trouble. First, Kaoru used his shirt to wipe off a little semen from his right hand and his penis. Then, he would have to get the semen off of the floor.

_Wait._

He'd have to put Naru's clothes back on first, just in case she woke up to find herself with her breasts hanging out. Half-naked, Kaoru put Naru's bra back over her breasts and clasped the bra, before tugging the t-shirt back down over her torso. Now, he could focus on the expelled semen.

Maybe he should wipe it up with something. Unfortunately, in his panic, Kaoru didn't think about tissues, as he did not want to use something that was in her room. The semen seemed sticky and unmanageable. _My shirt,_ Kaoru suddenly thought to himself_._ Looking down at it, he hurriedly took the shirt off his back and knelt in front of his mess. Completely naked, Kaoru felt a nervous sweat on his forehead and underarms as he wiped away at the semen with his t-shirt. It was working well enough. After getting most of it, he used his hand to wipe off the rest of his semen. He decided to wipe his hand against his shirt again.

Walking briskly, yet quietly, Kaoru carried his clothes to his room. It seemed inappropriate at the time, but he enjoyed the exhilarating feeling he felt as he roamed the dark hallways of the Hinata Inn with his body in all its lithe and bare glory. To his embarrassment, and conflicting delight, he had another erection because of this feeling. Donning on his work gloves, the young inventor went back to Naru's room with his cleaning kit in hand. On his hands and knees, he sprayed his banana-scented cleaning solution onto the floor and wiped away with a clean rag. Every so often while he wiped the floor, Kaoru looked down at his throbbing erection. He wasn't sure what to make of it.

With no trace of his ejaculation on Naru's floor, he closed the cleaning kit and took off his work gloves. He went back to his room to put these things away, and then walked back to Naru's room, without bothering to wear any new clothes. Admittedly, he did this because a part of him wanted to do more to her, which made him feel bad. Kaoru paused for a few moments before kneeling next to her, noting her still-calm face. His erection now subsiding between a full-on force and a soft state, he looked at her with a solemn face. "I'm so sorry, Naru," he whispered. "I-I think I did something wrong to you." With thoughts of his sexuality and her body clouding his mind, Kaoru paused as shame continued to course through his body. "Please forgive me," he continued, his voice wavering. Feeling tears in his eyes, Kaoru stood up and walked away. He closed the door and continued to his room. He plopped his naked body down onto his futon, and stayed awake for hours, haunted by his thoughts. At one point, Kaoru thought about Naru's breasts again. He could remember them so vividly. Succumbing to his body, he turned to his side and quickly stroked himself to another ejaculation. Afterwards, Kaoru glumly reached for his cleaning kit and went to work on his own floor.

-…-

_Naru,_ he thought regrettably, _I shouldn't have touched you._ _It was wrong of me._ Kaoru threw off his blanket, got up, and set his futon aside as well, wanting to lie down on his specially-made nature floor. All around him, in his room, it looked like a jungle. His room teemed with ceiling-high trees, lush green grass, and black soil that was thick and rich with nutrients that his ecosystem needed to grow. The soil felt deep and cool on his skin as he lay down upon it, making him smile for the first time in many hours. Seeing only black soil, Kaoru was reminded of the black color of Makoto's hair and Makoto himself, which made him more depressed. _Should I tell Makoto?_ he asked himself. He imagined the young warrior's face, and saw disappointment etched on his features, as well as disgust. Kaoru shook his head, letting the soil dig deeper in his cheek. _He might even hurt me for doing that to Naru. _The young inventor sighed as he got up again from his bed of soil. He brushed off some soil specks from his butt cheeks and walked over to his wooden desk, where his computer was. As he sat down in his chair, Kaoru could hear a mechanical whir above him. Before he could look up, a white-gloved hand shot out of the vines in front of his desk and grasped his throat tightly.

"Gah!" he squawked, trying to loosen the hand's grip. At this moment, another gloved hand shot out, this time with a freshly-peeled banana. It forced the banana inside Kaoru's mouth, before both of the mechanical hands finally left him alone. _Oh yeah,_ he remembered, retracting the banana from his mouth and setting it down beside the keyboard. _Maybe I should get rid of that device_. Not hungry, he decided to surf the Web. On any other day, Kaoru probably would've spent most of his time looking at pictures of bananas, or researching the latest technology for his inventions. However, this morning, all he could think about was Naru, whether it was about how good it was to feel her breasts, or how bad it felt afterwards.

_Maybe I should look at something else…_Kaoru supposed. Glancing at his desk, he noticed a blueprint of his Mitsune-pleasuring robot folded underneath his banana. Unfurling it before his keyboard, he looked at the figures and models with newfound interest. Before last night, he didn't particularly care about the sketches of the naked women he made. Sure enough, he looked down at his groin to see a little blood rush through his flaccid penis. Setting aside the blueprint, Kaoru rested his hands at his keyboard and typed away. With a few clicks here and there with his mouse, he began to find things that were just as interesting as bananas…if not more interesting.

-Breakfast…-

As usual, Shinobu got downstairs to make breakfast for the residents. He was in a happy mood, humming a little tune while going through his cooking routine even quicker and better than usual. With breakfast ready on the dining table, he went upstairs to knock on each of his fellow resident's rooms to let them know the news. With Kaoru, Makoto, and Keitaro being the furthest away on the third floor, Shinobu would usually go to their rooms first.

"Kaoru?" the young chef called out as he reached Kaoru's closed bedroom doors and knocked twice on them. For some reason this morning, the young inventor would not answer Shinobu's voice the first time, which was strange. He called out his name again, this time getting a response from Kaoru.

At breakfast, the mood was odd. Kaoru seemed less energetic and cheerful, while Shinobu was the exact opposite. Naru also seemed to not be herself. She avoided Shinobu's confident and curious glances, and kept her head down as she ate. To the watchful eye, it seemed that Kaoru was nervous about something. Fortunately, Keitaro and Mitsune only noticed that something was a little off with their fellow residents, and decided to not make a fuss out of it.

-Later that day…-

In her room, Naru sighed deeply once again at her studies. _I am so bored,_ she thought to herself. On the first few problems, her handwriting looked normal. However, as she continued to work on her practice problems, her scratch work became sloppier and sloppier, with huge numbers clunking on the page in indifferent loops. All of a sudden, Naru heard someone knock on her door.

"Yeah?" she voiced with uncertainty, looking at the door.

_Please don't be who I think it is…_Naru thought to herself as she pursed her lips.

"Room service," the person exclaimed in a pleasant tone, causing her to tighten her lips even more.

_Shit._

"Oh, it's okay. I didn't want anything-" To her dismay, the door to her room slid open and revealed Shinobu's grinning face, along with a large assortment of refreshments arranged beautifully on his rectangular and silver tray.

"How are you, ma'am?" Shinobu asked snugly, in a manner bordering on arrogance. Out of extreme awkwardness, Naru's cheeks reddened slightly as she fearfully smiled at him for an instant before looking down at her studies in an effort to look busy.

"Kind of busy here," Naru answered, keeping her head down as she scribbled random equations and unrelated numbers down in her notebook. Shinobu's shadow passed over her writing. Walking over next to her, he knelt down and slowly set down the tray on the floor before sitting cross-legged a couple feet away.

"You don't want to have a break?" She shook her head curtly.

"No, I'm good." Shinobu lifted a round, white sugar cookie off a jean-blue plate and playfully waved it beside Naru's face. Not getting her attention, he teased the cookie in the space between her face and pencil-wielding hand. "I'm not hungry," she tersely added. Shinobu sadly retreated his hand, pausing before he bit down on the sugar cookie himself. Finishing it quickly, he turned to his tray and proceeded to fill a paper cup with ice-cold water from his cylindrical plastic pitcher.

"Are you thirsty?" he asked, offering the cup to her.

"No." Shinobu frowned and slowly put the cup down on the floor in front of him while keeping his gaze on Naru. Not looking up at him this whole time, she continued to write in her notebook, hoping he'd leave her alone.

"I can kiss you again," he finally said, looking her straight in the eyes. Upon hearing this, she stopped writing. The tip of her pencil hovered over the surface of the notebook paper, and then leaned silently against it. Naru's eyes lowered from the paper, crossing the edge of the table and into her lap as she started to shake her head. In frustration, she let out a small breath.

"Shinobu," she began quietly, "this can't happen."

"What can't happen?" Shinobu asked irritably, also sounding quiet. He remembered Mitsune who was next door.

"Us," Naru replied, blushing as she said the word. She couldn't believe that she was saying it. "Kissing."

"Why not?"

"You're…you're just a child-"

"No," he breathed out angrily. "No, I'm not." Without thinking, he got up and walked around, pacing. "Is that what this is about?" he asked. Naru didn't respond. "I'm thirteen now. I'm a teenager, just like you." She looked on uncomfortably. "How old are you?"

"…I'm seventeen."

"You know, you're not that much older than me," he tried to reason. "Only four years. And we're both teenagers."

"But-"

"It felt so good," Shinobu blurted out, trying to force himself to speak softly; he didn't want Mitsune to find out. "…kissing you. I _want_ to kiss you. It's not like I kissed you accidently. It's something that _I wanted_."

"Shinobu-"

"How did it feel when you kissed me?" Naru became redder and looked away from his face, paying attention to Shinobu's chest. "It felt good, didn't it?" Resting in her lap, her hands played with the ends of her t-shirt. "That's why you're not saying anything. If it didn't feel good, you'd say something? Wouldn't you?" She opened her mouth, but she could feel an overbearing pressure closing it up.

_It's the truth…_Naru realized.

"I'm really lonely," Shinobu's voice quivered as he continued, "and it just felt so good to kiss you." He walked back up to Naru, and knelt down next to her. "…A-are you lonely?" Still looking straight ahead, she kept frozen in her cross-legged stance.

_Yes._

"I dunno," Naru mumbled. Shinobu sniffled and blinked away a couple of tears, letting them roll down his cheeks.

"Can't I just kiss you?" He reached out and rested his hand on hers, surprising Naru. Her heart started to hurt again with longing, as it always did when she thought of her promised boy. She glanced at Shinobu in a sideways manner before turning her head slowly in his direction. Earlier, it seemed like her face was definitely expressing awkwardness. Discomfort. But now, Shinobu had a hard time reading her face. He tentatively leaned closer to her, grasping her hand as he did so. Naru let this strange feeling course through her fingers and palm, leaning in as well.

_What about Keitaro?_ the little voice in her head reminded her. She continued to lean in, although at a very slow pace…

-…-

"_There's one more thing," Mitsune said. "Why did you…want to go to Tokyo University in the first place?" Keitaro looked at him, puzzled._

"_Don't you already know this? I thought I already told you this before?"_

"_Well, yeah," Mitsune admitted, causing Keitaro to furrow his brow, "you have. I just…want you to say it out loud, so that you remember why you want to go to Tokyo U. …So that you can use it as motivation during your studies." Keitaro gave him a strange look. "And, to be honest, I kind of…forgot your reason for wanting to go to Tokyo U. Sorry." Keitaro rolled his eyes._

"_Some friend you are," Keitaro remarked in jest. "It was because of a promise."_

-…-

_It's okay,_ Naru replied hopelessly to herself, focusing on Shinobu's quivering lips, _he already has someone special back home…_

-Meanwhile…somewhere in the wet and humid tropic jungles of Brazil-

After a few more swings with her machete, a short and elderly woman was finally able to chop down the remaining leaves and vines. Before her, there was a clearing of pale brown dirt which led to a few small huts and a large, white medical tent.

"Still having a problem back there?" the elderly woman asked, turning around to look at her companion. A few feet away, a teenager in fashionably-tasteful cargo wear struggled to keep her black cat from clawing at her forearms.

"Stop it!" the teenager muttered, with part of her black hair sticking up in the air like a radio antenna. "Ow! There's no more food, Kuro. You just have to wait." The cat, Kuro, with its extremely long ears, responded with a swipe at the teenager's face. Three parallel red scratches appeared on her right cheek. Stunned, the teenager looked down at the ground for a few moments, trying to collect herself. Then, she slowly nodded before reaching for the machete attached to her belt. Seeing this, the elderly woman sighed and turned back around to the camp clearing, trying to ignore the cat's wild and loud screams. Under the shade of the medical tent, a male voice shouted Portuguese in their direction. A thin and tan man with a thick brown mustache ran out to greet the two of them.

"My God," the man exclaimed with a thick accent. "There you are! The other guides thought you were lost in the jungle."

"We were all right," the elderly woman said kindly, sticking her machete back into its sheath.

"Why didn't you follow the rest of the tourists?" he complained. "We were so worried."

"It's okay. We're fine." Suddenly, a loud screeching meow could be heard throughout the camp. The black cat bounded across the campsite, followed very closely by the tight-lipped and machete-wielding teenager.

"You didn't even need to go through the jungle," the tour guide continued in annoyance, "like we said before, we had a nice, clear path for you to walk through. Just like the rest of the tourists."

"Sorry, Miguel," she apologized, giving him a smile. "I don't want just any tour."

"You do realize…that we're not responsible for you getting hurt, if you don't follow our directions?"

"Of course." Sighing, Miguel wiped his wet brow with his forearm and glanced up at the sun in the pale-blue, partly-cloudy sky, before looking back at the elderly woman anxiously.

"We just don't want anyone to get hurt," he said in a caring manner. "…Please, promise me you will follow the tour as we planned earlier. We don't want any problems." The elderly woman looked at Miguel for a few moments before getting distracted by her granddaughter and her cat.

"All right, Miguel," she replied, putting a hand to her chest and bringing a relieved smile to his face. "I promise."

"Thank you, Ms. Hina," Miguel returned. "So…" With that matter settled, he looked around the campsite and observed the other tourists. "If I recall correctly, you wanted to have a video call on a computer, is that right?"

"Yes, for my granddaughter. Do you have a computer here?"

"Yes," he replied, "we actually have a laptop for you. If you'll follow me…"

"Kanako!" Grandma Hina called out to her. Running around one of the medical tent poles, Kanako and Kuro stopped in their tracks and looked back at her.

-…-

"Hey, brother!" Kanako exclaimed, smiling at the laptop in front of her. She was sitting on a green folding chair inside one of the huts. Dissatisfied with her greeting, the teenager softly shook her head.

"Hey, bro!" she exclaimed, tilting her head at a slight angle. Once again, she shook her head.

"Keitaro! …No."

"Hey! …No…"

"Brother…" Kanako softly said to herself. _That's it._ "Brother," she repeated. Suddenly, her black cellphone vibrated in her pocket. Taking it out, she noticed that she had one new message. She opened it and saw that it was from Keitaro. Seeing his name on the screen, Kanako could see him clearly as well, bringing a small smile to her lips. _I'm ready for video chat,_ she read the text message to herself. Looking at the laptop, Kanako noticed the screen brightening out of standby mode. On the screen, it showed a shaking phone graphic, with the words "Keitaro" beside it. She instantly shoved her cellphone back into her pocket, and moved her fingers over the mouse pad, using her right index finger to scroll the clicker over to the "Video Call" icon. Pausing, Kanako could barely contain her bubbling emotions. Heck, the last time she felt "bubbly," it was when she last saw Keitaro leaving the house for the Hinata Inn. She clicked the mouse button.

At first, nothing happened. Kanako glanced anxiously over at the bottom right-hand corner of the laptop screen, checking the internet connection strength. …It seemed fine-

"Uh, hello?" the small laptop speakers sounded suddenly. Kanako's heart jumped inside her chest. A moment later, a window popped up, revealing Keitaro. She stared at him for a few seconds, just gaping at his pixelated image with her mouth open slightly.

"…Hey," Kanako voiced automatically. Keitaro smiled…and then frowned.

"Did…something happen to you?" he asked. She pursed her lips; she'd never seen the look that he just gave her now. "It looks like someone scratched you-"

"Oh!" Kanako exclaimed belatedly, blushing as she touched the scratch on her cheek. "Stupid cat…Kuro. The cat got hungry, and you know how Kuro can get."

"Ouch," Keitaro remarked with a sympathetic smile. He sat in front of his laptop in his room, his legs dangling from under the furnace table, which was turned off. "How's Kuro?"

"She's okay." They looked at each other in silence for a few seconds, making her gulp. "How are you?"

"I'm good," he replied. Then, a thought occurred to him. "Oh, yeah. You're not going to believe what happened." Kanako gave her brother all her attention, ignoring everything outside her gaze.

"What?"

"Maybe Grandma told you, but this girl came to the dormitories just over a week ago." Kanako furrowed her brow.

"Wait, aren't you living in an all-male dormitory at Hinata?"

"Yeah, but Grandma said it was okay."

_Grandma?_ she thought to herself. Usually, Grandma Hina would've told her something like this.

"Plus, you know, being the new manager here-"

"What?" Kanako interrupted sharply, looking at him with shock. Keitaro looked back confusedly.

"Grandma didn't tell you?" His sister shook her head.

"No," she whispered, her gaze dropping down from the screen. "Why wouldn't she tell me?"

"Well, it's no big deal. I don't really-" Kanako snapped her gaze back at her brother, feeling another blow…this time, from the person she loved most.

"No big deal?" she yelped angrily, looking on helplessly. "What about your promise?" Keitaro frowned, seeing that he hurt her. "_Our_ promise?"

"I'm sorry," he apologized, rubbing his neck as he looked away from the screen. "I forgot how much it meant to you." From the look on her face, Keitaro could tell that there was an undercurrent of sadness running through the hotness on her skin. "When I said it's no big deal…I just meant that you could keep doing what you were doing, and I could keep doing what I am doing. You don't have to worry about anything. You can keep traveling with Grandma, while I hold down the ship here at the inn." Kanako frowned slightly as she shook her head with increasing haste.

"No," she said flatly. "I miss you." She bit down on her quivering bottom lip. "I want to see you again."

"Aw, come on, sis," Keitaro tried to console her. "You can't just pack up and leave. What about Grandma?"

"She can take care of herself," Kanako muttered, looking off into the distance. Her brother sighed.

"Look," he began, holding his hands out in front of him, "just talk it over with Grandma first, at least?" It was his sister's turn to sigh.

"Fine," she grumbled. "But I'm coming home."

"Kanako!" Grandma Hina called, from outside the hut. She entered and found a disagreeable Kanako looking back at her. "Is something wrong?" she asked, getting the feeling that her granddaughter knew everything. "The tour is leaving. We have to go." Kanako continued to look at her menacingly for a moment or two, before looking back at the laptop screen.

"I have to go," she said disappointedly. Keitaro nodded.

"Okay. Stay safe. Love ya." With the word "love," Kanako could feel her heart flutter. She gaped at her brother once again, before coming up with the right words.

"I love you, Keitaro," she returned in a clear and confident voice. She could imagine the two of them kissing right now…

"All right," he said, giving an appreciative smile…completely oblivious to his sister's true intentions. He waved at her before reaching for the mouse pad. "Bye."

"Good-bye," Kanako breathed out. A second later, his smile disappeared, along with the rest of his torso, and his room. The screen returned to the desktop background. Slowly reaching for the laptop to shut it close, she let her mind savor the thought of Keitaro, before letting her anger return. She gave her grandmother a steely look.

"Are you okay?" Grandma Hina asked, waiting for her granddaughter's wrath. Kanako scoffed, and then made a face, wrought with fake sympathy.

"Are you okay?" she mimicked. It never ceased to amaze Grandma Hina, to hear Kanako mimic her voice with absolute perfection. It was as if her own words were echoing right back at her. Still, this didn't stop the overall feeling of frustration that boiled over inside Grandma's head.

"Stop that," Grandma Hina demanded.

"Stop that," her granddaughter voiced perfectly, still holding complete malice.

"Kanako…"

"Kanako…" All of a sudden, Grandma Hina slammed her fist down onto the table, making the laptop jump a little. Kanako jumped as well. However, it was half fear, and half excitement, that made her jump.

"That's enough," Grandma Hina said sternly. Looking at her granddaughter, she eventually grimaced as she lifted her hurting and shaking left hand from the table.

"Did that hurt?" Kanako asked quietly, in her normal voice. Her grandmother lightly held her hands together, close to her chest. "…Good," Kanako remarked heatedly, a disturbing smile crossing her face. Expecting this response, Grandma Hina looked at her with sorrow. "Maybe now, you know how I felt," Kanako continued, "when I found out that you didn't tell about Keitaro being manager. Or that girl." Kanako scoffed once again. "What are you trying to do? Get him to marry her?" Hina continued to look at her sadly. "Is that what you're trying to do?"

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you," Grandma Hina began. "I didn't tell you because I'm trying to protect you."

"Here we go again," Kanako muttered, crossing her forearms. "You're trying to protect me from Keitaro, the one person who I want be with the most."

"He won't return your feelings."

"He _will_," Kanako growled as she stood up from the chair, seeming to tower over her grandmother. Slowly uncrossing her forearms, the teenager looked down at the ground, lost in her own head. Then, she looked back at Grandma Hina, with a determined look on her face. "We made a promise to each other." Hina didn't reply as she looked back at her granddaughter with tired eyes. Kanako looked back for a moment, and then walked past her towards the hut entrance. Stopping at the entrance, she turned her head back towards her grandmother. "And we love one another," Kanako remarked over her shoulder. "We always will," she quietly added as she turned back her head, letting the words warm her heart while walking away.


	13. Taking the Next Step

Chapter 13: Taking the Next Step

A man in kendo attire, with his green hair styled into a short fauxhawk, stood in front of the seventy or so students in the wide, open-air sparring gazebo. The students were lined up ten feet apart from each other, in a rectangle comprised of seven rows of ten people. The man calmly glanced at the group from left to right, and brought up his shinai in front of his body. Meanwhile, many of the students took in deep breaths and had sweat on their brows. Makoto was in the second row closest to the sensei, barely breaking a sweat through the exercises. Izumi was right in front of Makoto in the first row, bending over on purpose to reach her tippy toes and showing him her butt. At first he was annoyed, but he became glad that she did this. The lower dress of his kendo attire completely covered his erection.

_Anything to stop thinking about Sister_, Makoto thought wearily to himself. He appeared fine on the outside but, on the inside, he felt very tired.

"All right, everyone," the sensei called out to his students. "Last exercise. I want fifty vertical strikes. Do them at the same time as me." The sensei shifted his legs into the proper stance. "Ready?"

"Yes, Sensei!" the students yelled in unison. The sensei reared his shinai back over his head and snapped it back towards the floor with the strength of ten men.

"Hyah!" the sensei yelled, along with the rest of his students.

-…-

After exercises, there was a small thirty-minute break to allow everyone to cool off and get some refreshments from the instructors at the outdoor dining huts. At one of the tables, Izumi chatted happily with her friends when she felt someone tapping her on the shoulder.

"Makoto?" she exclaimed in surprise, seeing his face as she turned around.

"Um, could I talk with you?" Makoto asked. He glanced at her friends, and back at Izumi. "In private?"

"Sure," she replied cheerfully.

"All right, follow me," he said, turning around and walking towards the forest, about a hundred feet away from the campgrounds. Izumi turned to her friends as she hurried in his direction.

"See you later," she called out. A knowing smile crept on her lips as she observed the gleeful and mischievous grins on the faces of her friends. They chattered amongst themselves, wondering what Makoto could possibly want from Izumi.

After a couple of minutes walking, they stopped. Looking around, Izumi wasn't sure if Makoto was stopping somewhere in particular. It all looked the same, with tall trees blocking the sunny and robin-blue sky. There were no people in sight.

"Izumi," Makoto began, looking at her directly.

"Yes, Makoto?" Izumi asked, curious as to what he wanted. She offered an encouraging smile and put her hands behind her back in a timid way.

"I'm sorry I said that you were a bad person," he apologized. Izumi gaped at him for a half-second before shaking her head briskly.

"No, it's okay." She raised a hand, as if to calm Makoto. "Don't worry about that, I'm fine."

"I…" Makoto started. "I want us to be friends again-"

"Yes," Izumi exclaimed, a look of relief washing over her face. "Yes, I do, too."

"Actually, I want us to be…_more_…than friends," he explained, blushing as he lowered his eyes. Upon hearing this, Izumi widened her honey-colored eyes and dropped her jaw, taking a step back from Makoto.

"W-what?" she whispered, bringing her hands to her chest. "Are you saying-"

"Do you want to catch a movie sometime?" he asked, still looking off to the side. "And get some dinner afterwards?" Izumi frantically looked all around the forest, wondering if this was all a joke. She wanted to hold, touch, pinch, and squeeze her own face and head, but acted as if there were bubble wrap all over it, stopping her from touching herself.

"Yes! I'd love to!" Izumi practically yelled out, finally running up to Makoto and hugging him tightly. Throughout the whole scene, she didn't notice the look in Makoto's eyes. He seemed blank and haunted inside. However, as she hugged him, the feeling of her chest against his rocked him out of his haze. The usual brightness returned to his eyes.

"Not so close, Izumi," he nervously mumbled. He had a half-erection, but now he was completely hard. "Your chest…" She looked down at her cleavage, and leaned back slightly.

"Oops," she giggled, looking up at him as she continued to have her hands around his waist. Her smile started to disappear when she noticed how close their lips were to each other. Izumi's cheeks started to become pink and the wind blew a light breeze through her strawberry-blonde hair.

"Mmph!" Makoto tried to make a sound, but Izumi already planted her lips onto his. He blushed as well.

_So, this is what it feels like_, he thought blissfully to himself. _My first kiss_… However, suddenly, his mind flashed back to Tsuruko…

"_Good luck," Tsuruko said, kissing her kid brother Makoto on the lips, as she always did when he left for kendo instruction with the other children. She'd give him a sideways smirk and ruffle his hair, before letting him leave._

Immediately, Makoto unconsciously pushed away from the kiss, surprising Izumi…and himself.

"…I'm sorry," Izumi said sheepishly, thinking that it was presumptuous of her to kiss him so suddenly.

"No, it's nothing," Makoto told her. "I don't know what came over me, I…" He sighed and looked away. She finally seemed to notice that something was a little off with him.

"Is something wrong? Are you tired?"

"Yeah, yeah," he replied, glad for the excuse that she provided. "Let's go back to the camp. I need a drink of water."

-…-

"Wait, wait," Naru panted. Her entire body felt burning-hot; she felt as if she was sweating everywhere. She knew her face was completely red, that was for sure. Struggling to push Shinobu away from her lips, Naru was completely dazed. She could see that Shinobu was the same, breathing heavily and blushing madly. In her room at the Hinata Inn, they had been kissing each other for fifteen minutes, with several breaks in between as they sat close to one another in front of her desk.

"Are you ready?" Shinobu whispered, staring at Naru's lips in a zombie-like fashion and moving in closer. Naru stared as well, entranced by the boy's lips. Once again, a strange smile plastered itself on her face before she dove into the depths of his mouth. The room was silent except for the sound of saliva slipping between their tongues.

This moment was so strange to the both of them. They were experiencing something important, magical, and exhilarating. In their brains, Shinobu and Naru couldn't express what they felt as they kissed each other, but they knew that they wanted to. It was like they discovered a drug in each other's saliva. Their tongues rolled over each other, their steamy breaths mingled. Soft sighs escaped them. It wasn't long before Shinobu started using his hands. On its own, the small right hand sneaked under Naru's blue T-shirt, his sweaty fingers gliding against her warm stomach. Fingertips hitting her left bra cup, Shinobu forced his fingers underneath without hesitation.

Closing her eyes tighter, Naru arched her eyebrows and her back as a groan left her lips. She opened her eyes and looked at Shinobu as if she had never seen him before in her life. Shinobu looked down at her T-shirt and reached for the bottom, attempting to pull it off her body. Suddenly, Naru's hand snatched his wrist. He looked up blankly at her, surprised. A moment or two passed before she began to shake her head "no."

"I…I'm sorry," she murmured. "I'm not comfortable with that yet." Naru ignored the sensational feelings that spiked from her breast as Shinobu's hand retreated from under her bra. "I think we should stop for now," she continued softly, wiping the sweat off her forehead and straightening her T-shirt. She ignored Shinobu's look as she looked back at her studies on the table, even though her cheeks were deep red.

"Ok," Shinobu whispered, smiling broadly. He stood up and took a moment to gather himself. Walking behind Naru, he knelt next to her to pick up his tray of refreshments before walking over to the door and shutting it behind him.

Once the door closed, Naru stopped pretending to look at her studies. She slowly moved her lips around, and wagged her tongue inside her mouth, thinking about Shinobu. Her nipples were hard under her bra, and she was definitely a little wet down there, at the bottom of her panties. She reached for her left breast, still feeling his hand grasping the flesh there. Naru sighed deeply and ran a hand through her hair before resting her hands on the table.

_Is this what I want?_ she asked herself, reflecting on the most exhilarating, yet discomforting moment of her life so far.

-…-

"I want…" Mitsune began, wondering what he should order from the pizza place several blocks from Hinata. He was lying on the three-seat sofa in the lobby of the inn, facing the medium-sized flat-screen TV that he moved to the coffee table as he talked on the phone with the pizza place employee. "I want a large deep-dish pizza. With extra pepperoni, extra sausage, mushrooms…" Suddenly, another topping emerged in his head. "Oh, that's right…bacon. I definitely want bacon. Annnnnnnnd…actually, you know what? Let's not get selfish." Sniffing, Mitsune rested the phone between his ear and the armrest as he scratched his ribs. His other hand was holding the remote control. "Let's stop there. Yup. Mmmhmm. That's it." As he listened to the other line, he couldn't help but imagine the woman while she spoke to him. "…You know, I must say, your voice sounds very nice to my ears." Intrigued, Mitsune listened extra closely to the phone. "Are you a hot lady, by any chance?"

Suddenly, he cringed and reared away from the phone as the young female employee started to raise her voice at him. Little by little, Mitsune inched closer to the phone receiver. "Hey, lady. Calm down. You're acting like I insulted you or something. I didn't insult you. Heck, I did the _opposite_ of insulting you. I thought you were a hot lady. Look, I'm sorry. It's just that…I'm kind of a hot guy, and I thought you might like to go out on a date sometime." Hearing her response, he looked at the receiver in disbelief. "Whoa! Language!"

Mitsune glanced at the TV screen and saw that the baseball game was back on. He calmly listened to the angry voice on the other line as he watched the game. "…So, whatcha doin'? I guess you're working, obviously? I mean, obviously, you're probably working…but you could be doing something else. Maybe taking a little 'something-something' from the cash register, eh? Some extra money? …I've done that once. Oh, man." Mitsune chuckled to himself, remembering those days. "I remember my first time. I opened the register in that McDonald's, and I couldn't help myself. I mean, that penny was so…shiny. You couldn't believe how shiny it was. And the penny was made that same year, 2007." The woman on the other line ignored his ramblings and continued to yell into the phone. "…But, you know, eventually, I felt awful about taking that penny. It was just eating me up inside. I kept having nightmares of the penny circling around my head, muttering "Thief…thief…" in a spooky nightmare voice. So, a few hours later, after my three-hour nap, I put the penny back in the register. I was so relieved when I did that." Pausing, Mitsune frowned as he remembered something else. "Strangely enough, a few minutes later, a fire broke out on the hamburger grill and the McDonald's burned down to the ground in two hours' time." The woman continued to scream at him. This time, she was wondering what the fuck he was talking about. "_I_ couldn't have made that penny unlucky." Mitsune shook his head as he tried to convince himself of this. "Not me." Nestled next to his stomach was a cold can of a cheap beer. He reached for it and took a swig. "Soooooooo…I'm watching TV right now. Baseball game." Mitsune reached for a black book on the coffee table in front of him and looked inside. "I bet 500 yen that the Swallows would beat the Tigers. …By the way, I guess that was a "no" on the hot date?" After saying this, Mitsune heard a dial tone on the other line.

"Hey, Keitaro?" he asked the young man, as Keitaro made his way down the stairs.

"Yeah?" Keitaro wondered, looking down at him.

"Could you call the pizza place and make my order for me?"

Keitaro gave him a perceptive smirk as he stopped behind the couch adjacent. "Let me guess. There was a woman on the other line, and you wanted to get into her pants." In response, Mitsune shook his head lightly in disbelief and laughed heartily.

"Oh, Keitaro," Mitsune said with love. "You…you know me so _well_." He motioned him to come closer to the three-seat sofa.

"Why don't you just toss me the phone?"

"I like it when your body is close to my body," Mitsune replied matter-of-factly. "Plus, I'm feeling really lazy." Keitaro casually rolled his eyes and walked over to the sofa, stopping in front of Mitsune's face. "You're the best, man. BFFWMHBWTOEOs, dude! For life!" Keitaro furrowed his brow in confusion, putting his hands on his hips.

"Best Friends Forever…?" Keitaro started to say.

"Best Friends Forever," Mitsune replied, "Who Might Have Boners While Thinking Of Each Other."

"I see," Keitaro said calmly, nodding to himself as he looked off into the distance. "Well, good luck with your pizza," he continued, walking away from Mitsune and continuing down the lobby area towards the inn entrance.

"Wait, Keitaro," Mitsune called out, shifting around on the sofa and holding onto his beer before looking over the edge of the sofa at Keitaro's back. "I'm…a little drunk. I think that's why I have a boner; you know how I want to have sex with everyone when I'm drunk. Plus, half the boner is for the Pizza Lady." Keitaro walked away without another word, leaving through the inn entrance and sliding the door closed. Mitsune sighed heavily and brought the beer can to his lips.

Suddenly, opening his eyes slightly, Mitsune gasped and dropped the can. It bounced slightly off the edge of the sofa cushion and clunked onto the rug, spilling some beer. Mitsune clenched his stomach with both hands, curling into a ball on the sofa.

"MMRROOOWWW!" his stomach growled ferociously. The immense force of the growl caused Mitsune's body to shudder.

"I know, I know!" Mitsune complained to his stomach, feeling a cold sweat develop on his forehead. He rolled off the sofa and struggled to his feet. Clutching his stomach once again, he staggered off towards the inn entrance. "I'm going to eat pizza…even if it's the last thing I do!"

-…-

Ignoring Mitsune's cries of hunger pain, Keitaro whistled softly to himself as he walked to his aunt's tea shop. He walked inside and raised an eyebrow as he saw his aunt. Haruka seemed a little different today. Heck, it didn't even look like her. Her hair and attire looked the same, but she had a rare expression on her face: a broad smile. Her cheeks seemed a little rosy as well.

"Hey, Aunt Haruka," Keitaro greeted. Instead of her usually indifferent face, Haruka glanced up from the table she was cleaning and gave him a genuine smirk. He also noticed that she was not smoking a cigarette.

"Hey, Keitaro," she replied cheerfully, letting her hands rest.

_She doesn't even care that I called her "Aunt?"_ he thought to himself.

"What's up?" Haruka asked. Setting down the table rag, she turned around and walked behind the counter. "Want some green tea?"

"Uh, sure!" Keitaro said, taking a seat at the table Haruka was just cleaning. "…Is everything all right, Haruka?" Haruka gave him a bewildered expression as she set the stove on high and put the water up on it.

"Yeah," she replied, walking back to the table and sitting in front of him. "Why, what's wrong?"

Keitaro shrugged. "Nothing's wrong," he explained. "You just seem…happier…for some reason." Haruka blushed a little, making her cheeks even rosier.

"Really?" she asked. She got up from the table and looked at the full length mirror by the door. Keitaro gawked at her with surprise and amusement as she ran a hand through her hair and gave a strangely feminine glance at the mirror.

"You seem more relaxed," Keitaro added.

"I do, don't I?" Haruka asked herself in a pleasant tone, gazing happily at her reflection. She gave the mirror one last flirty glance before noticing Keitaro's stare. Blushing a little more, Haruka's face became more normal as she realized how out of character she seemed to Keitaro, frowning slightly.

"What happened?" he asked, leaning closer to Haruka after she sat back down at the table.

"…Ummm…"

-…-

"_Yeah, that's right," Tsuruko moaned loudly, looking back at Haruka lustily from the doggy position. "Keep pounding me with your big, fat, plastic-"_

-…-

Keitaro couldn't help but shed a bead of sweat behind his head as Haruka's face turned completely red. He had never seen her like this before.

"N-Nothing," Haruka stammered, avoiding her nephew's looks. She lost her smile. "I just feel better for some reason, that's all."

"What is it?" he kept asking, peering closer at her.

"Look," she suddenly snapped, a vein popping on her forehead. At this, Keitaro leaned back; he knew there was no getting further on the subject. "What did you come up here for, anyway?"

"Just taking a break from studying," Keitaro replied. "I was wondering if you had any managerial stuff I could look at, since I'll probably need it to be manager…"

Haruka relaxed. "Sure," she said, getting up from the table. She walked inside her office, looking through the desk for some information.

"Isn't that the nicest ass you've ever seen?" a voice wondered out loud beside Keitaro.

Keitaro scoffed. "Dude, that's my aunt…" he remarked, glancing at Tsuruko before doing a double-take.

"Nice," Tsuruko complimented Keitaro, raising a hand so that he could high-five her. Instead, Keitaro fell off the table bench and scooted three feet away from her.

"What the fuck!" Keitaro yelped, equally surprised to see a large and majestic bird perched on her left shoulder. "Who are you?"

Tsuruko smiled kindly at him. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Tsuruko, and I'm your aunt's fu-"

"-Friend!" Haruka exclaimed. Appearing out of nowhere, Haraka managed to clamp her hand tightly over Tsuruko's smiling mouth, while getting a face full of Magic's feathers in the process. "Pleh!" she spit out, shaking the feathers out of her mouth. "Tsuruko…is my _friend_."

_Don't you dare say anything, or I will kill you_, Haruka telepathically told Tsuruko as she looked intensely into her eyes.

_How cute…_Tsuruko telepathically replied. Somehow, Haruka understood what she said and turned a little pale, her confidence a bit shaken. Fortunately, Keitaro was too distracted to notice.

"…That's a really sneaky friend you've got there, Aunt Haruka," he commented, getting up to his feet and dusting his clothes off. Keitaro bowed slightly in respect to Tsuruko. "Hi, Tsuruko. It's nice to meet you. My name's Keitaro." Tsuruko bowed, as well as her bird.

"It's nice to meet you too, Keitaro. As I said, my name is Tsuruko, and I'm your aunt's fu-" Suddenly, Tsuruko stopped herself and laughed. "I'm your aunt's friend." She shook her head softly and continued to chuckle. "You know what I was about to say, Haruka?" she said to her. Leaning close to Haruka's ear, Tsuruko whispered: "Fuckbuddy." Tsuruko leaned back in time to see Haruka's fake and fearful smile planted on her face, entertaining Tsuruko to no end.

"So that's why you look so much happier and relaxed," Keitaro assumed, smiling as he looked at both of the women in front of him. "How do you two know each other?"

Haruka started to speak, but froze. She felt Tsuruko's hand slip down the back of her apron and pants, her fingers deftly sliding under her panties and reaching the lips of her vagina. Keitaro couldn't see this at all, since Tsuruko was doing this behind Haruka's back.

"We met right here, in your aunt's tea shop," Tsuruko replied for Haruka, glancing calmly at her…as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Haruka kept her lips tightly together in a fake smile. To her dismay, Tsuruko's quick fingertips had already made her wet. "I was dying to have something warm and wet at my fingers…and your aunt was ready for me." Haruka groaned slightly in agreement.

"I see," Keitaro said. "So you liked my aunt's tea, and now you're a regular customer here?"

"That's right," Tsuruko replied. Somehow, her fingers moved even faster, stimulating Haruka even more. "Her liquids are so slick and refreshing. They taste so good in my mouth." Tsuruko turned towards Haruka and looked her in the eye. "Come on." Tsuruko could feel Haruka tightening around her pulsing fingertips. "_Come on_. …Tell your nephew how great I am." A second later, the teapot of water Haruka had set up whistled loudly, surprising everyone.

At the same time, Haruka leaned heavily against the table with both hands. "Yes!" Haruka whispered softly, clenching the wood tightly. "Yes." She shuddered very slightly as her orgasm seeped through her panties. "Tsuruko's the best."

Glancing back from the whistling teapot, Keitaro narrowed his eyes. "You okay, Haruka?" he asked her, moving towards her.

"I'm fine," Haruka said quickly, not wanting him to come closer. "I'm just a little tired, that's all." Tsuruko took away her hand, bringing her glistening index and middle fingers to her mouth and sucking on them in plain view before briskly walking to the stove to take the teapot off and turn off the stovetop. "You know what, Keitaro? I actually can't find what you're looking for right now."

"Oh, that's okay," Keitaro said. "I'll just head back to the inn. Maybe I'll come by the tea shop later."

"Sounds good," Haruka said, standing up straight. "Good luck studying!"

"Thanks," Keitaro replied. He glanced at Tsuruko. "Nice to meet you, Tsuruko."

"Nice to meet you," Tsuruko returned, beaming broadly at him as he left the tea shop. "He seems like a nice young man-"

"Can I talk to you in my office?" Haruka interrupted her. She walked towards her office.

"Sure," Tsuruko chirped, following her inside. As soon as Tsuruko was inside, Haruka closed and locked the door. "So, what did you want to talk about…?" she started to ask, her voice trailing off as she saw Haruka's fist hurling towards her face.

-…-

"And will that be all?" Natsuki asked, writing down the order on her notepad while holding the phone between her cheek and shoulder. "A large pizza with pepperoni and sausage? Ok, thank you. Your pizza should be delivered in twenty minutes. Buh-bye." Putting down the phone on the receiver, the eighteen-year-old glanced at her coworker. "You got that?"

"Yeah, I got it," he replied, tossing some dough into the air. With that, Natsuki took off her pizza shop cap, wiped the sweat off her brow, and readjusted the cap over her dark brown hair and short ponytail.

"All right," she said. She walked over to the pizza boxes already filled with pizzas and picked up the next order. Heading towards the pizza place entrance with her red pizza bag in her hand, Natsuki turned her head and called out, "I'll be back." She stopped in front of the door and swung the pizza bag over her shoulder, when something slammed hard against the door. "Gah!" she screamed, flinching back.

"Hello?" Mitsune called out hoarsely though the glass, putting his mouth against it. "Pizza Hut? Can you take my order?" He grimaced and sank against the door. "I'm so _hungry_."

"Sir," Natsuki said warily, "you have to step back so that you can open the door. Once you step inside, then you can order."

"I can't move," Mitsune groaned, still leaning against the door with his hands pressed against the glass. "I left my beer at the inn, and I haven't had a proper meal in hours." Falling backwards, he rested on his side and raised a shaky hand towards the door handle. "For God's sake, let me in!"

Frowning, Natsuki stepped forward and pushed the door open. The smells of the pizza place wafted towards Mitsune, perking his nose and causing him to crawl inside.

"Oh, that wonderful aroma!" he cried out, crawling on his hands and knees. Natsuki groaned as she observed that he was drooling. "My mouth is crying out in joy, oh beautiful pizza maiden!"

"That's nice," Natsuki commented with an insincere smile, letting the door shut.

"Can I have a large deep-dish pizza?" Mitsune requested, wiping the drool off his chin with his sleeve. "With pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, and bacon?"

"Sure," she replied, turning to the kitchen, "let me just get my coworker…"

"-It's okay," Mitsune interrupted, "that I don't have any money, right?" Hearing this, Natsuki paused and turned back towards him.

"If you don't have any money, we can't serve you," she snapped, starting to lose her temper. Mitsune widened his eyes.

"Hey, wait a second," Mitsune said, recalling his phone call, "you're the Pizza Lady, on the phone." Natsuki widened her eyes as well, in anger.

"You!" she growled, jabbing a finger in his face as she stood over him. "What did I tell you over the phone? You are never, _ever_, getting a pizza from here, ever again!" Mitsune clutched his heart and gasped.

"You bitch!" he yelped at her. "You didn't take my order!" Mitsune struggled to his feet. "I said that you had a hot voice…I complimented you-"

"Who the fuck says that?" Natsuki yelled back, not noticing that she dropped the red pizza bag onto the floor. "That is completely inappropriate-"

"I told you my life stories," Mitsune shouted, gesturing with his hands in frustration. "I shared…intimate details about my past work, and…my TV…viewing habits." Natsuki started to get a headache, just as she did when she was arguing with him over the phone. "I asked you out on a date, and you rejected me-"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she screamed at the top of her lungs, her face turning red. "Stop sprouting random shit!"

"I can't believe I had a boner from your voice," Mitsune lamented. Natsuki's jade eyes twitched.

"What did you say?"

"Actually…" he added, eyeing her from head to toe, "you're pretty hot, so I've a got a boner right now." He sighed deeply and shook his head. "I am so disappointed with my penis."

"That's it," Natsuki decided, walking out the door while taking Mitsune by the collar.

"Hey, what are you…wow, you're strong," Mitsune commented as he tried to pry her fingers away from his shirt. "Is that your car?" he asked, getting dragged inside the parked green sedan.

-…-

Feeling the recent stress of his contact with Naru (and feeling a little trapped in his room, as natural a habitat as it was), Kaoru couldn't take it anymore.

_I'm going to the hot springs,_ he thought to himself. Usually, Kaoru would forget about bringing a towel and would just strip carelessly in the changing room before doing a cannonball in the middle of the hot springs. However, this time, he grabbed one of the white towels that were normally stacked in the changing room. He took off his clothes as quickly and carefully as he could before wrapping himself around the waist with his towel and walking into the hot springs area. He kept it on until he crouched down at the water's edge and slowly sank his body into the depths of the steamy liquid. Kaoru sighed deeply. _This is the first time that the hot springs felt so good-_

"_You're telling me,"_ _Naru interrupted._

All of a sudden, an image of her appeared in Kaoru's mind, naked and glistening with water. Blushing and pink.

"Son of a bitch," Kaoru muttered to himself, turning red.

_Of course I have to think about Naru,_ he thought guiltily. _I'm such a sicko_. Kaoru looked down at his groin in the water. _And the water is making my dick feel so much weirder…_ He shook his head and began to look around himself. _What's wrong with me? Why am I starting to think about Naru and other girls, and touching myself…even when she's not_-

Kaoru froze. As he turned his head to the left, he found Naru looking straight back at him with a similar look of shock. The top curves of her breasts peeking slightly over the water.

…_here?_ Kaoru finished asking himself. He gulped hard as Naru blushed.

"Hey," she managed to say. "How's it go-"

"I'm so sorry," Kaoru interrupted, turning away and climbing up out of the hot springs pool. To his dismay, Naru could see Kaoru's erection in full display as he got out. A sheepish smile crept on her lips, and she turned her head away to give him some privacy. He turned redder while reaching for his towel and quickly wrapping it around his waist, running out of the hot spring area.

"W-wait, Kaoru," she tried to call out, once she saw him with a towel on. But he was already in the changing room, putting his clothes on and cursing to himself. Naru settled back into the pool.

"Wow," she said softly, shocked to see another penis. Unsurprisingly, her mind imagined herself groaning loudly as Kaoru kept pounding her buttocks doggy-style. Although it aroused her, she managed to let it slip out of her mind.

_This is the first time I've been back in the hot springs since my first day here_, Naru thought to herself in surprise. _That's really strange; I thought I would've been in here _much more_ than that…_

_Then again, _her little voice reasoned, _you can't be in here all the time, with all the male residents-_

Naru blushed as another, much lewder, image crossed her mind, involving her and all the boys at the inn.

…_You'd tire yourself out,_ the little voice teased. _In a big hurry._

Naru sighed. _I didn't come here to think about sex_, she thought to herself. _I came here to think about Shinobu_-

_Fuck 'em_, her little voice said casually. She scoffed.

_I'm not going to forget about him-_

_No, I mean you should _actually_ fuck him_, her little voice clarified. Naru rolled her eyes in self-response. _You want it so bad…_

_He's the first guy I've ever kissed, but was that a mistake?_ she asked herself. Leaning back against the stone, Naru rubbed her lips against each other.

…_I don't think so,_ she thought to herself. _It felt good and…I can't believe I'm going to say this, but…I think I like him_. Naru smiled.

…_Pervert,_ the little voice in her head replied, causing her to frown a moment later.

_You're right…I don't think I want to go having sex with him right away. That just feels fucked up_.

_Do you think of him as your boyfriend, though?_ her little voice asked without ridicule.

_Boyfriend?..._ Once again, her mind flashed back to her promised boy.

Naru sighed deeply. _I still care about the promise I made, but…_ Remembering her passionate kiss with Shinobu, she started to think about him. His shy face. His constant duties around the inn, which she greatly appreciated. …His incredible tongue.

_I think I want to pursue this_, she finally decided. Naru got up from the hot springs pool, the water dripping on the stone path before her as she walked towards the changing room and wrapped the towel around her chest. _I want to see where this goes_…


	14. Naru and Shinobu Taking it Slow?

Chapter 14: Naru and Shinobu Taking it Slow?

"Can I talk to you in my office?" Haruka asked Tsuruko, walking into her tea shop office.

"Sure," Tsuruko chirped, following her. As soon as Tsuruko was inside, Haruka closed and locked the door. "So, what did you want to talk about…?" she started to ask, her voice trailing off as she saw Haruka's fist hurling towards her face.

-…-

Haruka held a stone-cold expression on her face as she threw a punch at Tsuruko's face. The expression stayed, even as Tsuruko smiled pleasantly at her. However, an instant later, horror flashed across Haruka's face when her fist hit nothing but air.

"Fiesty," Tsuruko exclaimed, behind Haruka's back, "aren't ya?" Haruka whipped her head around as quickly as she could to estimate where Tsuruko was, before attempting to land another blow. Unfortunately, a spray of banana-scented aphrodisiac hit her right in the face, thanks to the aphrodisiac-spraying ashtray that Tsuruko held out behind Haruka's head. Haruka coughed and backed away, falling to the floor after slipping on a flesh-colored dildo. "That's why I like you, Haruka."

"You piece of shit!" Haruka growled, angrily wiping and blinking away tears from her red eyes. "You got it into my eyes!"

"Oh, come on, Haruka!" Tsuruko teased her, lightly flipping the ashtray onto the bed. The warrior walked slowly towards her and knelt down to the floor. "Fight through it. I know you're stronger than that." Suddenly, Haruka lunged at Tsuruko like a tiger, planting the warrior against her back on the floor.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Haruka muttered as she tugged on her white kimono top with both hands. "Why would you touch me…in public? In front of my nephew?" Completely calm, Tsuruko scoffed cheerily.

"If you think _that's_ public," Tsuruko remarked, thinking about her past, "I've got some things to show you…" Angry as she's ever been, Haruka reared back her fist once again. Tsuruko simply stared into Haruka's eyes, ready for her blow.

…But, the blow never came. Haruka's fist shook silently above her head, trembling and waiting for Haruka. A feeling started to come over her, and she just couldn't muster up the effort to punch Tsuruko. A moment later, Haruka threw her harshly back onto the ground with her other hand and lower her fist. She got up and turned away from Tsuruko.

"Leave," Haruka commanded. "I don't want to ever see you again." Tsuruko got up as well, and dusted herself off.

"Oh, I think you will," Tsuruko said knowingly. "In fact, you don't want me to leave-"

"Leave," Haruka repeated, "or I will _make_ you leave."

It became silent for a few moments. Haruka waited a second or two before turning around. At first, she became relieved to see that no one was there behind her. Then, she looked down and noticed a pile of clothes lying on the floor where Tsuruko stood moments before, which looked like Tsuruko's.

Haruka gasped, and then fell to her knees. She could feel Tsuruko's hands cupping her breasts. Earlier, Haruka had stopped herself from punching Tsuruko because she could feel the effects of the aphrodisiac working. By the time she told Tsuruko to leave, Haruka's nipples were rock hard, her pussy was completely wet, and she wanted to have sex with Tsuruko. In addition to making her horny, the aphrodisiac also made Haruka's sexual sensations twice as strong. So, as she wondered how Tsuruko was able to take all of her clothes (and Haruka's) off in just three seconds, Haruka was experiencing her second orgasm when Tsuruko's hands squeezed her chest. A moment later, Tsuruko took Haruka's face in her hands and forced her to look into her eyes. Tsuruko reached into Haruka's pussy and took only a minute to make her orgasm. And she was able to look at Haruka's face through the whole thing.

-The next day…somewhere on the outskirts of town-

A white van sped quickly over the country road as the orange and pink morning sun suddenly peeked over the horizon. It drove past a green sedan parked on the sandy dirt next to the road, with a Pizza Hut triangular prism sitting on top of the sedan. The sound of the van speeding past woke up Natsuki. She slowly opened her eyes and yawned, finding herself lying naked on the back seat on top of Mitsune, who was also naked. Smiling mischievously, Natsuki carefully maneuvered herself in the back seat so that her face was in front of his penis and her vagina was in his face.

Still new at the "blowing guys" thing, she gingerly picked up his penis with her right hand and started to suck on him. A few moments later, Mitsune became large and hard. He groaned and widened his eyes when he saw what was in front of him.

"…Morning," he said, proceeding to spread her vaginal lips with his fingers and thrusting his tongue inside. Natsuki blushed and moaned slightly with his pulsing cock in her mouth. A few minutes later, she planted her lips as far down his shaft as she could before he coated her throat with his warm semen. Separating herself from his penis, she marveled at how hard Mitsune still was.

"Put it inside me," she mumbled, using her hands to move Mitsune towards the front seat so that she could place herself in the missionary position with her legs perched on his shoulders.

"And don't come inside, right?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder and guiding the head of his penis into her vaginal lips. "On your face?" She nodded, staring intently on his large cock.

"Ah!" she gasped, as the full length of his member entered into her wet pussy. For about a minute, they said nothing as he thrust into her. Then, she giggled.

"What's wrong?" he asked. She shook her blushing face from side to side.

"Last night," she explained, "I hated you. And now…" Natsuki closed her eyes as she let the sounds of their flesh slapping together envelop her. "…Now, I can't get enough of your huge cock." She continued to stare at her pussy, amazed at what was happening. "You're the first person I've ever had sex with. I'm not a virgin anymore." She looked up at his face in a dazed fashion. "What happened? What caused this?" Mitsune thought for a moment, looking off into the distance and stopping his thrusts. Then, he shrugged and shoved his shaft into her once more, eliciting another groan of pleasure from her.

"I guess I'm just that good," he decided, putting a thumb inside the corner of her mouth. Natsuki arched her eyebrows and sucked happily on his thumb as he continued to fuck her.

-What actually happened…-

"Ow!" Mitsune exclaimed. Once Natsuki got him into her car outside the pizza shop, she proceeded to whale on him with her fists. "Stop hitting me!" Remembering something, he reached into his pocket with one hand while trying to fend off her punches with the other. "You better stop, I'm warning you!" Of course, she didn't. "You asked for it," he growled, taking out a small can of spray out of his pocket and spraying it into her face.

"Son of a bitch!" Natsuki screamed, tearing up at the spray. Unfortunately for Mitsune, this only angered her further and increased her barrage on him. "You fucking girl! Can of mace, you piece of shit!"

Fortunately, Mitsune received his can of mace from his fellow resident and expert inventor/scientist Kaoru. Unknown to Mitsune, the word "MACE" on the can of spray actually stood for "Mating And Casual Eloping" spray, which had similar effects as the aphrodisiac spray in Haruka's ashtray.

After a few more minutes of fighting, Mitsune and Natsuki glared at each other angrily, tired as hell.

"You fucking asshole," Natsuki growled, balling up her fists and shaking with rage. "You…you make feel so angry…that I, I want to-"

"Yeah, yeah?" Mitsune taunted, putting up his fists. "What do you want to do?" All this while, Natsuki had an incredible headache at the stress that Mitsune caused, and it finally came to a climax in her forehead.

"I want to drive somewhere quiet and fuck the shit out of you!" she bellowed at the top of her lungs, completely red in the face.

"Okay, okay," he replied, nodding in agreement and with a confident smirk on his face. "Man to woman, a fight to the death." Mitsune pointed at her and narrowed his eyes. "You are going down, bitch!"

"Good!" she yelled, starting the car and driving away from the pizza shop. After a few seconds, Natsuki glanced over at Mitsune nervously, seeing that he was absolutely pumped for the fight. "By the way…" she said, looking at the car in front of her, "how large is your penis?"

"It is _huge_!" Mitsune replied enthusiastically, practicing his fighting jabs. He glanced casually at her. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh," she said sheepishly, blushing. "Well, I'm a virgin…so I'm not sure how much shit I can fuck out of you," Natsuki joked, giggling to relieve some tension. In response, Mitsune cackled.

"Ha, you're gonna be so fucked by the time I'm done with you…" he muttered out loud. Natsuki gaped at him in surprise as she watched the road.

"Oh, God," she exclaimed. As they stopped at a traffic light, Natsuki took this moment to undo her Bermuda shorts and slide them down her legs. Then, she sucked on her fingers and thrust them under her panties to masturbate. "You're making me so _wet_!" Mitsune paid her no attention.

"You bet your ass," he snarled, glancing at her just now, "I'm making you so w-" Suddenly, Mitsune did a double-take, widening his eyes at her actions. "-Say _what?_" he asked in a completely confused manner and a high pitched voice.

-…-

Groaning in pleasure, Mitsune took out his cock and grabbed Natsuki by the ponytail. Aiming at her face and stroking his shaft as quickly as he could, he grunted as streams of his milky-white semen landed on her cheek, tongue, hair, and eyelashes. Using her fingers, Natsuki tried her best to wipe the semen into her mouth.

"Now bake me a pizza, bitch," Mitsune joked, playfully tossing her back with her ponytail. His smile disappeared, however, when he saw her cum-covered eyes narrow.

"What did you just say?" Natsuki asked clearly, getting up from the back seat and towering over his body. He felt his penis go limp.

"Well," he tried to explain, "clearly, you owe me a pizza-" Mitsune's throat closed up as Natsuki's left hand wrapped around it. She stared daggers at him while raising her right fist.

Outside, the green sedan shook violently. However, no one was having sex in the car, and there were screams of pain echoing inside.

-…-

"What the hell are those things for?" a short, purple-haired kendo student asked. Makoto looked in his direction and saw a dump truck full of gray boulders. Smiling, he walked up to his fellow classmate and replied, "For practice." The purple-haired teenager gave him a confused look before chatting with a friend of his. Makoto left them alone as the crowd of teenagers gathered around the dump truck. He made his way across the campgrounds to Izumi's cabin.

Opening the door, he peered into the dimly-lit dormitory.

"Izumi?" he called out quietly. Seeing the rows of beds on either side of the door, Makoto decided to walk through the middle, looking for her. As he got closer to the end, he could make out strange noises. It sounded like Izumi, panting, along with another woman. He grew annoyed. "Izumi!" he said louder, getting the last bed on the right side.

There, Makoto looked on in horror as he saw Izumi and her pink-haired friend naked on the floor beside the bed in the doggy position. They were connected by a glistening dark-blue rod, which disappeared into their vaginas. Makoto unsheathed his katana and walked past Izumi's contorted face.

"Makoto!" Izumi cried out in surprise, looking up at him pass her by while she continued to push against the double-ended dildo.

"What?" her pink-haired friend mumbled. As she looked back, she widened her eyes, seeing Makoto raise the katana above his head. "Wait! No!" The pink-haired girl shut her eyes and turned away in fear, gasping as she felt the dildo move behind her. Looking back, she breathed a sigh of relief. Makoto only cut through the dildo, slicing it perfectly in half. "Oh, thank God," she murmured. Fluttering her eyes, the pink-haired girl suddenly grew light-headed and fell down on her large bosom.

"Akemi!" Izumi cried out in alarm, turning around. She fished the broken dildo ends out of her and her friend's vaginas, and turned Akemi onto her back, checking her vitals. "She's fainted," she determined, looking back at Makoto in dismay. "Why would you scare us like that?"

"What are you doing?" Makoto asked firmly, ignoring her question as he put the katana back in its sheath.

"…I'm just having a good time with Akemi," Izumi replied. She looked at her with concern and brushed back some pink hair from her brow.

"I thought she was your friend."

"She _is_," Izumi said.

"So, you just fuck anyone you like?" he asked in disgust. "Even if you're not in love with them?"

"Just because I'm not in love with someone, it doesn't mean that I don't love them," she explained, lifting Akemi and putting her on her bed. "And it doesn't mean that I should stop getting to know the kind of person she is."

"Like the kind of vagina she has," Makoto taunted, "and the kind of _tits_ she has."

"Look, what do you want?" Izumi finally asked.

"First, I want you to put some clothes on," he muttered angrily, throwing her clothes at her. "So that I can talk to you without thinking that you're a whore." Looking at her eyes, he could tell that she was angry at him. Still, she did as she was told. "Secondly, I don't want you to have any kind of sexual activity with anyone while you're with me."

"But…"

""But?" What do you mean "But?"" Makoto asked incredulously. He sighed. "If you go around having sex with someone else while you're with me, I won't be comfortable with that. It will…" He started to blush, and then cleared his throat. "It will hurt our relationship." Izumi started to open her mouth, but thought better of it. "If you go out with other people, it will feel like…you don't really care about me. _Even_ if you think otherwise." The anger started to subside from Izumi, as she started to consider his point of view. "…Even if you think you're "sophisticated" or "aware" enough to simply have casual sex with strangers…or friends." For a moment or two, Izumi looked into his eyes, and then looked away and sighed.

"Okay," she conceded. "I'm sorry. I should've thought about things from where you were standing." Izumi scratched her scalp while glancing at Akemi's large breasts. "Still, it's going to be hard," she confessed. "For a while now, I've been comfortable having sex with other people. Heck, I _love_ it. So…" Stepping closer to Makoto, Izumi held hands with him. He blushed as she got closer. "I'll try my best to only be with you." Leaning closer, Izumi tilted her head, got on her toes, and planted a deep kiss on his lips.

"…Thanks," Makoto murmured quietly, looking away. Izumi smiled, and then looked behind her shoulder at Akemi.

"Akemi has nice tits, doesn't she?" Izumi asked him.

"Izumi…" he warned her.

"Wanna touch 'em?" she continued, stepping aside to give him a better view. "Akemi literally doesn't mind if you want to titty-fuck her. Even if she's unconscious-"

"I'll see you outside, Izumi," Makoto interrupted quickly, striding towards the cabin door.

"Want me to get rid of your erection?" Izumi added. Makoto froze in his tracks, and peeked behind his shoulder at her. She stared at his groin seductively, licking her lips-

"Outside!" Makoto exclaimed, his face completely red as he turned around and marched out of the cabin. "I'll see you outside!"

-…At the Hinata Inn…-

"You in there, Naru?" Shinobu called out, in front of Naru's door. Naru sighed; she expected this.

"Yeah," she answered, flipping her notebook closed as she sat down at her low table. "Come in." Pale sunlight entered the room as he slid the door open. To her surprise, Shinobu had nothing in his hands. "I thought you said-"

"I lied," he blurted out casually, sliding the door shut behind him. Shinobu walked confidently towards Naru, around the low table. He knelt down next to her and puckered his lips, trying to kiss her. Surprised, Naru tried to lean away from him.

"O-kay," she said annoyingly, forcing him to kiss her on the cheek. "Do you want to sit on the other side of the table for me?" Shinobu looked at her quizzically. "There's something I want to talk to you about, and I don't think Mitsune's back from…whatever it is he is doing at the moment."

"Okay," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. He got up and sat on the opposite side of Naru.

"Look," Naru began, "before anything…_happens_…between us, I just want to make things clear. Set some boundaries."

"Cool," Shinobu said. In his mind, he could only think about kissing Naru…and other things of that nature.

"Okay. First of all, I think we should take things slow."

"That's cool."

"I mean," Naru tried to explain, "kissing…is fine." Upon hearing "kissing," Shinobu smiled sheepishly to himself. "Of couse, we've already kissed. And I want us to continue…kissing." Naru started to blush as she nodded to herself. "…I would find it nice if we kept kissing."

"Gotcha," Shinobu agreed.

"But…I don't know…if I want to go _further_ than that…"

"…Oh," Shinobu said, the tone of disappointment obviously in his voice as he looked away.

"What I'm trying to say is," she quickly clarified, "obviously, I'd like to go further with things…like, sexually. But, I'm not sure if I want them right now." She fell silent for a second or two. "Actually, _yeah_…I don't want them right now."

"I see-"

"It's not like I don't think about sex," Naru interrupted, twitching nervously. "I _definitely_ think about sex." She chuckled. "I think about it _a lot_." After thinking about what she said, Naru shook her head. "Not a lot." Shinobu, looking amused and perplexed, nodded along with her words. "I like to think that I think about sex an appropriate amount," she clarified. "I fantasize about sex, you know. I get aroused, I…" Once again, she shook her head. "Never mind. I don't really fantasize about sex. Not that much." She sighed and rolled her eyes, chastising herself. "Anyway…did I make myself clear?"

An amused smirk crept on Shinobu's lips. "Um, yeah. I think I got what you're saying."

"I want us to take it slow," Naru finally stated, "and I don't want sex right now."

"Got it," Shinobu said, flashing a casual smile.

"And," Naru exclaimed, remembering something important, "I don't Keitaro, Mitsune, or anyone else at the inn to know that we're "dating."" Shinobu frowned.

"But-"

"No, I'm sorry," Naru said, not backing down. "It just feels too weird. …Please, Shinobu?" Looking into her eyes, Shinobu finally sighed.

"Fine," he grumbled.

Naru smiled back, and then, things became quiet. She looked at her notebooks and textbooks, playing with the edges and flipping through the pages nonchalantly. He looked at her doing these things, and then looked around her room.

"So," Naru finally said, "how has your day been-"

"Wanna kiss?" Shinobu interrupted, surprising her.

"Kiss?" she echoed. "You mean, putting our lips together and our tongues down our mouths?" Hearing this, Shinobu smirked and crawled on his hands and knees around the low table towards Naru. "Kissing?" she continued to prattle on, blushing. "Well, you know, I'll say this: I am neither for _nor_ against kissing. I find it to be a completely natural activity for people to participate in…and, um, obviously, we have…kissed before. So, I'm no stranger to it! Ha ha! Nope. I know what kissing is like. It's…it's quite the sensation. It feels quite good, actually, and…mmph. Mmmm. Mmmm, mmph…"

-…-

Haruka whimpered as she experienced her tenth orgasm in an hour, which seemed impossible. By now, the juices from her pussy had accumulated so much that Tsuruko was able to take two handfuls of them from the pool that accumulated in the middle of her bed. She splashed the juices onto Haruka's breasts, and then onto her face.

"Please," Haruka whispered, unable to move a single bone in her body. "No more."

"I don't know…" Tsuruko said, sitting in front of Haruka's strewn and naked body on the bed. Haruka was amazed at how fit and toned she was; she had barely broke a sweat, while Haruka was aching everywhere…especially in her pussy, butt, breasts, and nipples. "You enjoy feeling like this, don't you?" Haruka didn't respond. "I said," Tsuruko repeated, grazing Haruka's clitoris with her thumb, "don't you?" Haruka gasped and arched her back.

"Ah!" she cried out weakly. A little more vaginal juice poured out from her body. Collapsing back onto the bed, she breathed heavily. "Yes," Haruka replied softly. "I like feeling like this."

"You want me to stay with you, don't you?" Tsuruko asked. "Whenever you get…the "itch?"" Haruka didn't respond, but Tsuruko decided that Haruka wanted this.

"Do you love me?" Tsuruko continued. In response, Haruka continued to say nothing. With a glint in her eye, Tsuruko lifted a strap-on off the floor and put it on. Without hesitation, she wrapped Haruka's limp legs around her waist and pushed the plastic rod inside her vagina. Being so wet and slick, Haruka's vagina offered no resistance at all, allowing the tip of the strap-on to touch her womb instantly. Haruka looked on in horror, as if she were stabbing her.

Haruka's mouth stayed open, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. Her arms were completely slack while they hung over the bed, her knuckles resting on the floor. It only took a few more squishy thrusts to make Haruka come again. After the orgasm, Haruka's mouth closed almost all the way, leaving a small hole. Tsuruko took off the strap-on, tossed it to the floor, and wiped the sweat from Haruka's brow carefully.

"…I'm sorry," Tsuruko began, "that I touched you in front of your nephew." Haruka's eyes stopped being blank. She looked up at Tsuruko. "I guess I felt angry that you felt the need to lie to him." Haruka continued to stare at her weakly. "When I said "fuckbuddy," I didn't mean to tease you…in the full sense, anyway. I meant that with complete love and compassion." Tsuruko leaned closer to Haruka so that she could take her hands in hers. She put Haruka's hands against her chest. "I don't just want to be your friend. I want to be someone who you can sleep with. Someone who will help relieve your stress. Your…pent-up frustration." Tsuruko lowered Haruka's hands and looked at them closely, admiring each finger. "It's okay if you don't want to tell your nephew who I really am," she explained, "but I want you to know that there's nothing to be ashamed of. Sex is one of the most natural things in life." She put her hands back down onto her stomach. "Enjoy it." Tsuruko bounced off the bed, and started to get dressed. "…Like you did today."

Having put on all her clothes, Tsuruko looked around the floor to pick up the sex toys that she wanted to use for later in the day. "Haruka," she said, putting on her sandals, "have you seen my…" Trailing off, Tsuruko paused, noticing that Haruka had fallen peacefully asleep. She smiled and, walking up to her bed, kissed her on the cheek before leaving the tea shop.

-…-

Naru marked another answer wrong with her pencil and shook her head at herself in disappointment.

"Argh!" she cried out in frustration. "I need a break." Lying down on her bare back, she stretched out her back and yawned while showcasing her naked breasts. "Shinobu!" Naru called out. At once, the blue-haired boy emerged at the corner of her vision, standing over her. Nervous, the naked Shinobu glanced at her chest, and then at his pulsing erection. "You know what to do," she simply said, closing her eyes and resting her hands behind her head.

Standing over her beautiful body, Shinobu gently lowered his small bottom onto her chest as he sat on her breasts. Naru opened her eyes again and smiled, using her right hand to stroke his penis up and down. Pretty soon, a good amount of clear-brown precum started to coat Shinobu's cock. "Put it in my mouth, please," she commanded, leaving her mouth wide open. He eagerly did as he was told, putting his knees beside her head and slipping his whole length inside. Naru enclosed her lips around the base, eliciting a cute groan from Shinobu as he leaned forward on his elbows. She made loud sucking noises, trying to collect all the delicious precum. Then, she forced the penis up out of her mouth and licked the tiny hole at the head of the penis like a lollipop. "Thanks, Shinobu," she called out, looking behind her at the rest of Shinobu's body. "You know how much I like caramel," Naru remarked, loving how Shinobu prepared his delectable sexual drinks.

"It's no problem," Shinobu replied with a heavenly smile. "Your lips feel so good against my cock…"

"All right," she interrupted, placing her hands over his body and against his soft butt cheeks. "That's enough teasing…give it to me."

"Fuck yeah," he growled, getting into a more comfortable position so that he could properly fuck her in the face. "Ready, whore?"

"Hey…" Naru objected. However, before she could say another thing, Shinobu pressed down his groin and forced his throbbing cock into her mouth. Not expecting this, Naru gagged slightly, forcing tears to her eyes while tightening her throat around his penis.

"Shut up, whore," Shinobu muttered, already moving back and forth inside her wet mouth. Completely aroused, Naru moaned in pleasure and began stimulating her pussy and clitoris. For five minutes, he fucked her in the mouth, gathering sweat all over his small body. Meanwhile, Naru was in heaven, rolling her eyes to the back of her head while waiting for her drink. "Here it comes!" he cried out weakly, feeling the incredible pleasure building up inside his hot cock. He thrust it as far as he could down her throat, and a giant stream of rich golden-brown caramel splashed the back of Naru's throat. She groaned in approval. Shinobu pulled back a little bit and thrust deep down again, releasing a second stream of caramel and a high pitched grunt. Finally, he thrust for a third time, giving her the rest of the caramel. The cupful of warm, gooey caramel settled down slowly into her stomach. After resting on her face for a minute, Shinobu finally mustered up the strength to take out his penis. Naru's mouth made a popping sound as she sucked the last drop from the head of the penis.

"Thanks," Naru said, licking her lips and getting up to give him a kiss. She patted her warm and full stomach. "I really needed that."

"…It's a little too sweet," Shinobu remarked in concern, tasting the caramel on his lips. In response, Naru laughed and ruffled his hair.

"Oh, stop it," she chided him. "The caramel was great."

"By the way," Shinobu added, fondling her incredible breasts, "there's one more thing…" She gave him a blank look while he licked her nipples.

"What?" Naru asked honestly. He took his mouth off her nipple and gave her a look of surprise.

"You actually forgot?" Shinobu asked incredulously. Behind his back, he showed her two tickets. "We got tickets to Punch Kaoru Land!" Naru widened her eyes.

"Oh my gosh!" she yelped in joy, letting their naked flesh touch as she hugged him tightly. "When did you get this?"

"Come on." This time, it was Shinobu's turn to chide her. "Don't you remember when Kaoru saw you naked in the hot springs last night?" She looked up at the ceiling in disbelief.

"You're _right_!" she exclaimed. "I must've forgot to punch him because I was so preoccupied with our relationship."

"So…?"

"Yes!" Naru replied eagerly. "Let's go to Punch Kaoru Land!" Shinobu smirked at her.

"We're already there," he said, looking out at the grand amusement park. They stood in the middle of the park, with colorful balloons and confetti in the air. There were employees wearing huge Kaoru masks on their heads, getting hit by small children. There was a roller coaster ride with a giant fist in front of the car, the twists and turns going through different expressions of Kaoru's face.

"Fuck yeah!" she exclaimed, fondling her own breasts while stroking Shinobu's penis, which was hard once again. Naru ran to a line to the roller coaster, when she stopped.

_Wait a second…_Naru thought to herself. _Something seems strange…_ Turning around, she noticed something a little off about Shinobu's face.

"What's wrong?" Shinobu asked innocently. Naru ignored his question, peering closer at his face. She noticed a very small flap of skin at the edge of his jawbone. Reaching for it, she pulled off the mask. Naru gasped.

"K-K-K," she stammered, horrified at the face in front of her. "Kaoru!" Screaming, Naru reared her fist back with all her might and sent it hurtling at the energetic and smiling face-

-…-

"Kaomah…!" Naru mumbled in her sleep, frowning and fluttering her eyes as she rustled her head against her crossed forearms on top of the low table she sat at. "Kaolah!" she said a little louder, her drool slipping off her forearm and onto her notebook.

Gasping, Naru woke up and wildly looked around her room. She let out a sigh of relief, realizing that it was just a dream. "Oh, thank God," she murmured, looking down at her body and seeing that she still had her clothes on. Then, she noticed the drool hanging off the side of her chin."Ew," she blurted out, wiping it off with her t-shirt sleeve.

_What the fuck is wrong with me?_ Naru shook her head. _It's like a sad, sexually-deprived fanfiction writer is trying to push his sick and depraved fantasies into his pathetic little fanfictions! _Getting up from the low table, she groaned out loud in frustration and messed up her own hair while walking around her room.

_Anyway…_ Naru fished a granola bar from out of her closet and opened the wrapper, taking a bite. _What am I doing, thinking about hitting Kaoru?_

_Well…_the little voice at the back of her head said, _it's been a while since you've hit someone for being perverted. Now _that_ isn't normal…_

She rolled her eyes. _No, it's _good _that I didn't want to hit Kaoru_.

_Oh, really?_ her little voice asked. _If you don't want to hit him…then, what's happening to your right arm?_

"…My right arm?" Naru asked out loud, looking down and wondering what her inner voice was talking about.

She dropped her jaw. A moment ago, she could've sworn that there was a granola bar in her right hand. But now, there were only smudges of chocolate and peanut butter on her fingers and palm, as if she unconsciously squeezed the granola bar into a tight ball. Looking up, Naru saw that there was a tattered hole in the sliding door to her room the size of a coconut.

"Holy fuck…" she murmured to herself, glancing from the hole to her hand and back.

_That's not good,_ Naru thought to herself, looking through the hole before licking the smudges off her fingers and palm.

-Meanwhile…down at the hot springs…-

"Dude," Keitaro exclaimed, looking at Mitsune's bruised and bandaged face from across the hot springs pool, "you look awful."

"Keitaro's right," Kaoru added, grimacing at Mitsune. "Are you okay?"

"Psh," Mitsune said. He held a blue icepack to his swollen cheek as he rested in the pool. "I'm fine. You should look at Pizza Lady. I kept punching her in the boobs." He started to laugh, but then winced. "Ow."

"Why are you using the icepack in the hot springs?" Keitaro asked, furrowing his brow. "It'll be less effective in here."

"_You're_ less effective," Mitsune muttered back. He gave him a steely look, which amused both Keitaro and Kaoru. "Well, anyway, it's okay. I totally had sex with her, and she loved it." Keitaro groaned, while Kaoru blushed.

"Nice," Keitaro remarked in disgust.

"Thank you," Mitsune replied. "Besides…after our fight, we called a truce and shared a pizza together." Stretching his arms, he leaned back and looked at the cloudy sky, threaded with the mist from the hot springs. "It's all good-OW!" Mitsune flinched, feeling something hit him in the back of the head. Looking back, he saw what looked like a granola bar ball mashed together with its wrapper. "Sweet," he exclaimed, putting the icepack down on the stone and reaching for the ball. "Free food." Mitsune happily slipped the ball into his mouth and began to chew.

"Did I…see a wrapper?" Kaoru asked with uncertainty as he peered closely at Mitsune's mouth.

"It's okay," Mitsune said, chewing, "I'm young." A moment later, he hacked on the wrapper and then groaned in pain at his swollen jaw.

"Where did that come from?" Keitaro wondered out loud, looking in the direction where he thought the ball came from. Suddenly, he widened his eyes. "Oh shit." Mitsune glanced in the direction that Keitaro was looking, and did the same. "It's Naru!" Taking a deep breath, Keitaro submerged himself below the surface of the hot springs pool. Mitsune, resting close near a large rock, waded quickly behind it.

Meanwhile, Kaoru looked up and gaped at her slightly before closing his mouth. Unlike his previous encounter with her, he didn't feel threatened; she was far enough away so that she didn't seem like a threat, and he was waist-deep in the pool. Giving off a slight blush, Kaoru raised a hand and shyly waved at Naru.

Her right arm hidden behind the door, Naru was surprised at how difficult it was to wave back. It took all her willpower to raise her hand and uncoil her fist, her entire arm shaking uncontrollably. She finally flashed a fake smile and gave back a shuddering wave. Not noticing anything strange, Kaoru returned a genuine smile. Naru gasped before looking away and retreating from the hole in her door; it had been a while since she'd seen him smile like that…he'd looked so sad lately.

"Come on, guys," Kaoru called out to Keitaro and Mitsune, causing them to go back to their original places. "Relax. She's not going to do anything." The boy let out a sigh of relief and rested his head back onto the stone ledge, looking at the unclear sky.


	15. Mitsune's Junk

Author's Note-

For Mitsune's characterization in this fanfic, I imagined him as kind of a Will Ferrell (Ron Burgandy etc.) or Owen Wilson (the blonde) character. I also imagined his persona as NPH's Barney Stinson on _How I Met Your Mother_. So, with that in mind, you can characterize Mitsune as…whatever.

Chapter 15: Mitsune's Junk

Naru yawned as she groggily tossed on her gray hoodie over her pink polka-dot pajama bottoms. _Monday morning…time for another week of prep school._ She went up to the full-length mirror in the room and used her hairbrush on her long and orangey-brown hair. _I wonder how I did on the practice prep exam we had the other week-_

At that moment, she turned to the sliding door, seeing a shadow move across it from the sunlight.

"Naru," Shinobu called out softly. "Are you awake?" Immediately, Naru turned back and looked intently at the mirror, looking for any blemishes. Wiping off a little eye wax, she walked briskly to the door and slid it open. In front of her, Naru saw Shinobu. He smiled once he saw her and blushed.

"Hey," he whispered sheepishly, looking into her eyes.

"Hey," she returned, unable to help herself from smiling once she saw his smile. "What's up?"

In response, Shinobu tried to shrug nonchalantly. "I just wanted to try something," he said, looking to his right to make sure that no one was there in the hallway. Naru raised her eyebrows in confusion before looking in the direction that he was looking. By now, Shinobu was already looking to his left down the other end of the hallway.

"Try what?" Naru asked, looking down the other end of the hallway with him. As she looked back at him, however, Shinobu quickly tilted his head and kissed her on the lips. "Mmph!" she moaned into his mouth, completely surprised and blushing. Before she knew what was happening, she reared back and smacked her fist hard against Shinobu's left shoulder. "Hey! What if someone's watching?"

_Is this what he wanted to try? A morning kiss._ Suddenly, the anger in her face subsided and was replaced with joy. _Aw, that's so sweet…_

_And you're so horny_, the little voice at the back of her head added.

_I know!_ Naru replied to her inner self. _I _am _horny…I want to have sex so bad_.

"Oh, fuck it!" she decided with passion. "Shinobu, let's do it!..." Naru trailed off, realizing that Shinobu wasn't there anymore. "Shinobu?" she murmured, wondering where he went.

"Owww…" Hearing his pained voice at her feet, Naru widened her eyes and looked down. There, she saw Shinobu curled up in the fetal position, looking in agony at his left shoulder. A small purple bruise was already developing and getting larger by the second.

"Oh my gosh," he exclaimed, tearing up. "You punch so hard."

"I'm so sorry," Naru whispered. She knelt down and winced at his bruise. "Uh, are you ok?"

"…I don't think I can stand," Shinobu murmured with glazed eyes, as if he was going into shock. Naru chuckled nervously.

"You can't be serious," she remarked. Her nervous smile disappeared when he said nothing, looking straight ahead at the floor. "I can't believe I'm about to do this," she muttered, putting her hands under his neck and legs. "Wow." Rising to her feet, Naru was able to lift Shinobu in her arms with no trouble at all. "You are really light. How much do you weigh-"

"Owww!"

"Sorry, sorry," Naru said quickly, hurrying down the hallway to the staircase as she carried him.

As she bounded across the hardwood, a voice groaned from the room next door. "Will you shut up?" the voice growled angrily. By now, Naru and Shinobu were already going downstairs, oblivious to the man's voice. The door to the room next to Naru's slid open, revealing a naked and cranky Mitsune. "Some people are trying to..." Mitsune started to yell. "And now, they're gone," he added in his normal voice. "I was about to use my outdoor voice," he complained. "It's like people are deliberately trying to ruin my rhythm-"

"Uh, Mitsune?" someone called out from his room. Pausing, he glanced back and noticed a young and thin naked woman kneeling in the upright position with wavy neon-green hair and purple eyes.

"Yeah?" Mitsune asked casually, wondering what she wanted.

"Want to come back inside?" she asked. He noticed that her tone was a little irritated and embarrassed.

"Uh, sure," he replied, walking back into the room. "…What were we doing, by the way?" The woman looked at him in disbelief.

"You were about to come on my face," she said. Looking down, Mitsune remembered his erection.

"Ah, very right," he exclaimed, sliding the door shut behind him.

-Two minutes later…-

Sliding the door open in front of her, the woman with wavy neon-green hair and purple eyes marched angrily out of Mitsune's room, having barely cleaned herself up. She was so angry that she stormed outside with her clothes and bag in her arms.

"Motherfucker," she muttered under her breath, trying to put on her clothes as quickly as she could while leaving.

"Wait," Mitsune called out, stopping at the door. He had a giant red handprint on his cheek. "I didn't mean it." The woman said nothing and never looked back as she went to the staircase. "Oh well," he said to himself. Mitsune yawned and glanced over at his alarm clock. "Oooh! Breakfast time!" he exclaimed, putting on a pair of boxers.

-Meanwhile…in the kitchen-

Naru did a double-take, seeing a neon-green haired woman in her underwear march down the staircase and past the kitchen, ignoring her and Shinobu while leaving through the inn entrance.

"Who was that?" she asked, giving him an icepack while he rested on the floor.

"Probably one of Mitsune's conquests," he answered. Shinobu gave a sigh of relief as he pressed the icepack against his shoulder. "That's better."

"Again…I'm sorry, Shinobu-"

"It's fine," he said quickly, flinching away from her reach.

"Yo, Shinobu," Mitsune exclaimed, strolling into the kitchen with only his boxers on. "Where's the grub?" He stopped in front of Naru and Shinobu and noticed the icepack. His smile disappeared. "Wait, what's going on?"

"It's okay, don't worry," Shinobu began. Ignoring him, Mitsune knelt close to Shinobu and forced him to lift the icepack a little, giving him a view of the bruise. It had now grown to the size of a baseball.

"What happened to your arm?" Mitsune asked in a panic. Then, he glared daggers at Naru. "What did you do to him?" he asked in an increasingly antagonistic volume.

"Um," she replied, thinking about Shinobu's spontaneous kiss. "It was…only a little punch on the arm." Looking at her, Shinobu thought about his promise to not say anything about their relationship.

"Mitsune, it was nothing," he lied, hoping he would calm down.

"Lift your arm," Mitsune commanded to Shinobu. Giving him a look, Shinobu rolled his eyes before attempting to do as he was told. However, he gasped, feeling a shot of pain hit him after trying to raise his elbow.

"I can't," Shinobu blurted out. Mitsune widened his eyes and raised a hand to his own mouth as he gasped. "I don't think I can-"

"Don't you say it," Mitsune interrupted, trying to fight back tears. Shinobu sighed.

"I don't think I can make breakfast this morning," the blue-haired boy finished saying. A moment later, Mitsune's lips began to quiver. Then, the tears came running down his cheeks as his face contorted into an expression of incredible grief.

"Oh, God!" Mitsune screamed, enveloping Shinobu with his arms and legs as he hugged him completely.

"Please stop," Shinobu begged. His face grew pale. "And now, I can feel your junk. Great. Just great."

"Why?" the older man sobbed, looking up at Naru through blurry eyes. "Why did you do it? Why?" Blushing, Naru looked away, feeling dishonest.

"Because," she stammered, "because…Shinobu…"

_What should I say?_ Naru thought to herself.

"He was…" Naru continued, wringing her hands, "he was being…a pervert!" In mid-sob, Mitsune gave her a confused look, as did Shinobu.

"Wait, what?" they both asked incredulously.

"He saw…my breasts while I was changing in my room," she fibbed.

_What I am saying?_ she thought.

_You seriously didn't need to say that_, the little voice in the back of her head told her.

"Is…is this true?" Mitsune asked Shinobu, their faces mere centimeters away from each other.

Shinobu sighed. "Yes. Yes, it is," he replied. Mitsune stayed quiet, thoughtfully looking into Shinobu's eyes and making him incredibly uncomfortable. Then, a smile broke out on his face. Taking Shinobu's hand, Mitsune placed it against his bare chest.

"Shinobu, what do you feel?"

"I feel very uncomfortable right now-"

"You feel my heart, Shinobu," he answered for him. "And do you know why I wanted you to feel my heart?" Giving him a crazy look, Shinobu shook his head slowly. "I wanted you to feel my heart because I wanted to let you know that my heart is very full at the moment."

"Ugh…"

"You're growing up before my eyes, Shinobu," Mitsune proclaimed, standing up. Shinobu forced himself to stand up as well.

"Please stop talk-" Suddenly, Shinobu paused. "Wait, what?"

"Peeping on Naru's perky and exquisite rack," Mitsune continued, "you're on your way to becoming a man." As he said this, Naru blushed and felt good inside, before becoming angry and raising her fist. Seeing Shinobu and remembering her previous punch, however, Naru lowered it immediately.

"Really?" Shinobu asked shyly, avoiding eye contact.

"Hey," Mitsune said. He raised Shinobu's chin so that he look him in the eye. "You're gonna make some girl really happy someday." Hearing this, Shinobu smirked and glanced at Naru, feeling a little cheeky.

"Maybe I already am," Shinobu supposed slyly. As he gave her another look, Naru narrowed her eyes and scoffed. Mitsune scoffed as well.

"Right," he said, thinking that Shinobu was joking. "Maybe a few years down the road, champ."

"Mitsune, seriously…I have a girlfriend."

_Shut the fuck up, Shinobu!_ Naru telepathically communicated to the young boy.

"RRRight," Mitsune repeated himself more emphatically, "and my girlfriend's Keira Knightley. And she mounts me…_nightly_. Get it…get it?"

"No! I'm telling the truth," Shinobu pleaded. He looked back at Naru.

_Don't you dare…_

"Naru!" Shinobu protested. She gaped at him, completely dumbfounded. Mitsune, looking confused, glanced back at Naru.

_I can't believe Shinobu broke my promise,_ Naru thought angrily to herself. _Even worse, now Mitsune knows. Soon _everyone _will know. Keitaro, Makoto…_ She sighed and tried to fight back tears. _This is so embarrassing…_

"So, Naru," Mitsune said, "who's the lucky lady?"

"Look, it's no big deal, I-" Naru stopped.

_Wait…Mitsune thinks it's someone else!_

"I mean," she continued, blushing at how she almost gave herself away, "like I said, it's no big deal. Um…it's someone at his school." It was Mitsune's turn to gape at her.

"Whoa, get the fuck out!" Mitsune exclaimed. "Really?"

"Yeah," Shinobu replied quickly, nodding. "Her name's Mariko."

_Nice job with the quick lie_, Naru thought approvingly.

"Oh, Mariko!" Mitsune recalled. "The redhead with the blue ribbons in her hair and the rectangular glasses?"

_WTF?_ Naru thought angrily, face-planting the kitchen floor behind Mitsune.

"She's a great girl," Mitsune remarked, looking at Shinobu in a new light. "You two are perfect for each other-" All of a sudden, he gasped and clutched his stomach in pain. "Oh, I'm so stupid," he chastised himself. "Stupid, stupid! Food first, conversation later…always remember it, Mitsune!" Dropping to his knees, Mitsune tugged at Shinobu's t-shirt in a pathetic manner. "Shinobu, if you can't cook, then who will?..."

"If you guys don't mind…" a voice sounded behind them. Turning around, the three of them saw a woman with long strawberry-blonde hair and honey eyes wearing traditional kendo clothes. "I can cook for you."

"Oh, don't be silly," Mitsune blurted out, turning his attention back to Shinobu, "you're just a stranger with beautiful hair, luscious lips, an incredible body, and…" In a flash, Mitsune stood before the woman, looking at her from head to toe. "Why, hello," he said suavely, taking her hand and kissing it. Amused and flattered, the woman looked on. "The name's Mitsune Konno. And yes…I _do_ have a nice body." He gestured to his well-toned body, bare except for his boxers. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Looking down his body, the woman eyed him approvingly before stifling a gasp with both her hands when looking at his crotch. Mitsune was having an erection. Fortunately for him, Naru was unable to see this, as his back was to her. "Oh…and my little buddy thinks so, too." They chuckled together, while Naru and Shinobu gave them confused looks.

Stepping a little closer, the woman impulsively reached for his boxers and pulled the front down slightly, exposing his manhood and completely shocking Mitsune in the process as he widened his eyes. She scoffed and shook her head in disbelief. "It's so big," she murmured, reaching to touch it with her other hand.

"Oh sweet Jesus," Mitsune whispered, not believing his incredible luck. Then, just when she was about to touch it, she stopped.

"No," the woman said firmly. She let go of the boxers. "I can't. I'm saving myself for someone special." Mitsune scoffed in response and put his hands on his hips.

"Who could possibly be more special than me?" he asked incredulously, standing before her as if he were a superhero.

"Izumi," a familiar voice called out, approaching the kitchen. Behind Izumi appeared Makoto in his usual attire. "I told you to stay in my room…" Looking around the kitchen, he realized that she had met some of the residents. "Oh. Hello all."

"Hey, Makoto," Izumi said cheerfully, planting a deep smooch on his lips. Not expecting this, Makoto blushed as he looked at the other residents, but felt surprisingly good while observing Mitsune. Mitsune had dropped his jaw in horror and taken a couple of steps back.

"Hey," Makoto returned. "What just happened?"

"Well," Izumi began, "I was looking around the inn when I heard a girl crying in the kitchen. I walked to the kitchen and realized that it was actually Mitsune. He was hugging the little boy – Shinobu, I think – really tightly, as if they were gay lovers or something like that. He stopped crying when the little boy said that he peeked at Naru's breasts, and said that Shinobu was doing the right thing and becoming a man by being a peeping tom."

"Ok," Mitsune started to say shakily, "now, wait a minute-"

"Then," Izumi continued, "Mitsune thought the little boy was lying about having a girlfriend. Mitsune said that his girlfriend was Keira Knightley, which is a lie. Next, they talked about Shinobu's girlfriend, and Mitsune said that he liked that little girl. And then, Mitsune cried again – this time, about food. I was getting tired of him crying, so I interrupted and said that I could cook instead. He tried to hit on me, saying that he had nice body…even though yours is nicer, Makoto. Then, I saw that he had an erection. It was like he was a horny teenager who had never seen a girl before." Makoto and Izumi shared a chuckle. "Anyway, since I'm very curious about sexuality, I decided to look at his cock."

"Wait, what?" Makoto asked. Mitsune smirked.

"It was pretty big," Izumi commented. "But then, I realized that you didn't want me to do anything sexual with other people. You wanted me to be with only you. So, I decided that Mitsune's cock was stupid, and that your cock would be the only one for me." She kissed Makoto again, which pleased him greatly. "So, after that, his penis became small and then you came. That's basically what happened."

In absolute shock, Mitsune could barely keep standing on his two feet. "What in the world is going on here?" he exclaimed fearfully.

"So, since I'm making breakfast," Izumi decided, "I'll make whatever _you_ want, Makoto, because I love you so much."

"Aw," Makoto cooed. Realizing what he just did, he cleared his throat loudly and tried to look serious. "I, um, share your feelings. For breakfast, I'd like a traditional Japanese meal with rice and soup."

"Coming right up!" she replied, giving him another smooch before going to the sink and putting on the apron that was on the countertop.

Mitsune couldn't take it anymore. He dropped to his knees, and took a deep breath before looking up at the ceiling. "Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!" he screamed, shaking his fists in the air.

-Meanwhile…at the prep school-

The silver Mercedes sedan slid into the designated parking space, as it had for the past twenty years. Inside, the middle-aged man with short salt-and-pepper hair and moustache turned off the engine and opened the door, taking his black leather briefcase in hand. He set it atop the roof of his sedan, took out his cappuccino, and shut the door before pressing the alarm key button and reclaiming his briefcase.

The man tugged the door open with his right ring and pinky fingers, walked slowly through the hallways, and eventually stopped in front of the door labeled "Principal." Setting his briefcase down to the floor, he reached in his pants pockets for his keys and unlocked the door.

"Principal Yamamoto?" a feminine voice rang, from next door. Smiling, the man picked up his briefcase and entered his office.

"That's me," his deep and gruff voice answered. Some dust sifted in the morning sunlight that entered through the open blinds at the opposite end of the door, from the window. He walked towards his desk, which was situated in front of the window, and set his things down on the desktop. Looking up, the principal smiled as he saw the woman who called him out. "Good morning, Vice Principal Shimizu."

"Morning," she returned. The woman wore a pale-blue work suit, complete with a knee-length skirt and a white dress shirt, top button undone. She had her medium-length blonde hair bundled in a ponytail and a small freckle on her left cheek.

"How was your weekend?" Yamamoto asked, settling into his leather chair.

"It was good," she replied. She stood at the door, with her hands behind her back. "Went to the beach."

"Sounds like fun."

"And yours?" the vice principal asked while he sipped on his coffee.

"Nothing much," he replied, leaning down to turn on the computer. "So, any news today?" She nodded, walking up to his desk. From behind her back, Shimizu revealed three pieces of paper, which she handed over to him to look over.

"We finished grading last week's practice prep exam."

"Good," the principal exclaimed, leaning back in his chair. He glanced at the top of the first paper, seeing that it said "Ja-ja-moh Practice Preparatory Exam." Below that, he saw a numbered list of the highest scorers on the exam. The first name he saw was "Naru Narusegawa." _No surprise there, _he thought to himself. Then, he looked at the second piece of paper, which was a test taker's exam answer sheet. "What's this?"

"Well, it's funny that you ask," she began, crossing her forearms across her chest. "Apparently, last week, one of the test takers was someone who isn't enrolled at this prep school." The principal raised an eyebrow.

"Hmmm."

"Yes," she concurred. "Exactly." Next, he flipped to the last page, which was also an answer sheet.

"Ms. Narusegawa's answer sheet," he noted. Suddenly, he paused. The principal looked back at the first answer sheet, and then flipped back to the second one, causing the vice principal to smile. "They have the same address," Yamamoto realized, looking up at her with some curiosity.

"Yes," Vice Principal Shimizu replied as she crossed her legs. "Exactly."

-At the Hinata Inn-

After eating breakfast with a whiny Mitsune and Makoto's really attractive friend Izumi, Kaoru walked back to the stairs when he heard his name being called. He froze, gulping hard as he recognized the voice. Sure enough, it was Izumi.

"Hey," she said cheerfully.

"Hi," he said quietly, with a shy and silly smile on his face.

"I noticed you looking at me the entire time during breakfast," Izumi remarked. Blushing immediately, Kaoru felt embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," he stammered, looking down and holding his wrist, as if he hurt it.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," she quickly said. Izumi reached for his hand and squeezed gently. Surprised, Kaoru continued to avoid eye contact, but couldn't help but show a small smile. "I liked it when you looked at me. …It means I still got the goods." She chuckled to hopefully relieve some tension, which it did. "Well, anyway, I was saying goodbye to everyone and was just about to leave. So…I just wanted to say that it was nice to meet you." Already holding his hand, she surprised Kaoru again by coming even closer and hugging him tightly.

"Oh," he managed to blurt out softly, letting her do all the hugging. _She smells so nice._ Realizing that his cock was getting hard again, Kaoru cleared his throat to try and distract Izumi. She could feel his boner against her thigh, but she decided it would be best to not say anything. Stepping back, she smiled once again and waved goodbye.

"Bye, Kaoru."

"Wait!" he blurted out, reaching his hand out awkwardly. She stopped. "…Um, this will sound stupid-"

"Oh, no," she said at once, "what is it?"

"…Can I take a picture of you?" Kaoru asked. _I can't believe I asked that question…_he thought to himself.

"Um," Izumi said, giving him a strange look for the first time, "sure! Do you have to go to your room, or…"

"I have my cell phone," he replied, fishing it out of his pocket.

"…Wouldn't you rather get a camera?" she wondered. "I think it'd be better picture quality…"

"No," Kaoru said, putting the phone in camera mode. "This should be good enough. Say cheese!" Izumi smiled as the flash went off. "See? Take a look." Walking to his side, she looked at the screen…and proceeded to drop her jaw.

"Holy shit!" she exclaimed, taking the cell phone from his hands. "That's better than my actual digital camera!" Izumi looked at Kaoru in surprise. "What kind of phone is this?"

"I…made it myself," he mumbled.

"_What?_" Izumi practically yelled. "You must be joking!"

"No," Kaoru said, shaking his head. "I like to make things."

"So, you're like an inventor or something?"

He blushed. "I…guess you can say that."

"Wow, that is so cool," she murmured, looking intently at his phone. "Hey, do you think that you can give me a copy of this photo?"

"Sure," he replied. "Of course."

"Ok. I have to go, but I'll definitely drop by some time." She waved again. "See ya later!" Izumi called out, scampering to the inn entrance. Once she was gone, Kaoru looked around the lobby to make sure he was alone, before going upstairs to his room.

"Lock doors," he commanded, once he slid the door shut to his ecosystem-supported room.

"Door locked," a mechanized female voice sounded. With that done, it would take a tank shell to open those doors. Kaoru began to strip off his clothes so that his body could breathe. His erection felt much better. Sitting down on his soft black mulch nature floor, he took out the cell phone's microchip and slipped it into his main computer. The large 50" flat-screen monitor automatically turned on and went to his camera files.

"Computer," Kaoru said, "show me the last photo taken from my camera." A second later, the photo of Izumi flashed across the screen, clear as day. "Play the last sound recording file taken from my camera." From either side of the computer monitor, the speakers played back the conversation that he secretly recorded while Izumi was talking with him.

"_Hey. … Hi. … I noticed you looking at me the entire time during breakfast. … I'm sorry."_

"Computer, stop sound recording." The speakers fell silent. "Conduct a facial movement simulation analysis of the person in the photo." On the screen, lines and random geometric shapes blurred onto Izumi's face, changing every half-second.

"Facial movement simulation analysis completed."

"Computer, conduct facial movement simulation on the person in the photo," Kaoru requested, already stroking the underside of his cock with his index and middle fingers while keeping his eyes glued on her face.

"Hey," the speakers sounded, playing the conversation over again. This time, however, Izumi's mouth moved on the monitor, as if she were actually saying the words to Kaoru. "I noticed you looking at me the entire time during breakfast."

"Computer," Kaoru continued, his voice getting a little breathless, "conduct a voice developer for the female voice in the sound recording." After a few seconds, the computer beeped.

"Voice developer complete."

"Develop a random conversation with this voice. Using erotic and sexually-arousing phrases, directed at me."

"Kaoru!" Izumi boomed from the computer. He gaped at her image and wrapped his fingers around the shaft of his cock.

"Yes, Izumi?" Kaoru asked softly, slowly stroking himself.

"Why are you naked?" Izumi asked. His computer was so technologically-advanced, it sounded like she was actually talking to Kaoru.

"Because I wanna fuck you," he growled. He continued his slow pace, going up and down his shaft with his hand.

"Mmmm," she groaned. Hearing her groan, Kaoru felt a little precum squeeze out. "I wanna fuck you, too." He stared into her eyes and his lips curled up slightly. "Yeah, keep stroking your cock." Kaoru increased the speed of his masturbation. "Come closer." Obeying the computer, he got up to his feet and walked up to the monitor. "Your cock is so big and long. Please, cum on my face." Unable to wait any longer, Kaoru stroked himself as quickly as he could. "Give me your thick semen-"

Grunting, Kaoru shuddered and sighed as his ejaculation splattered across the screen. His knees shook and he fell down on his bottom, the dark mulch feeling cool and refreshing. He took a few seconds to let the feeling subside in his penis.

"Computer, clean the monitor screen." A robotic arm appeared from behind the computer with a rag in its hand, wiping all the semen off with one swipe. Then, another robotic arm came out with a spray bottle full of computer screen cleaner and heavily sprayed the entire surface of the screen. A third arm also appeared with another rag to finish wiping the screen clean and dry.

"Hee hee hee." Kaoru whipped his head around to see who it was.

_What the hell!_ Peering into the dark jungle trees, clumped up all around him, he couldn't make out anything. There were a few clear paths that led out to his bedroom and workshop area, but it still didn't help him see who it was. Plus, Kaoru like to set the lighting settings of his room a little dark, like a jungle at dusk. _How did he get past the sensors?_ Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small and silhouetted figure peek out behind a tree, at the end of the pathway leading to his workshop.

Running towards the figure, Kaoru only made it halfway before the figure disappeared behind the trees.

"Hee hee!" the voice gleefully laughed again, once again from behind where Kaoru was standing. Starting to panic, Kaoru quickly sprinted inside his workshop area. The soft and dark mulch gave way to a slightly-raised hardwood platform with a workbench and table on it. Looking at the lone cement wall in front of the table, he skimmed the contents of his tool stand before glancing at the table and finding what he was looking for: his hunter's knife. He grabbed it and sprinted back quietly to the main room. Step by step, he looked through the trees, wondering if there was only one intruder.

"I'm over here!" the voice sounded again, straight ahead in the path behind another tree. Kaoru felt goose bumps on his arms. The voice didn't sound menacing at all; it was happy. It sounded like a child. That was what freaked Kaoru out the most – the fact that the voice wasn't what he expected.

_Wait._ Kaoru looked at the trees. _Of course!_ Glancing back at the figure, he walked behind the wall of trees. Once out of sight, Kaoru waded into the trees, using them as camouflage. After a minute or two, he got close to the middle of the room, where his computer was. He could see the figure in front of him, hiding behind another tree. Still as his jungle. Kaoru got into position and fondled the knife handle in his hand before leaping out at the figure.

He hit him squarely in the midsection and planted the figure hard against the nature floor. Immediately, however, upon feeling the figure, Kaoru realized something was off. Going up and down with his hand, he noticed that the figure was completely flat and smooth, like printed cardboard.

"Computer, lights!" A moment later, high stadium lamps shined intense light onto the computer area from all sides. Looking at the figure, Kaoru saw…himself. It was a cardboard decoy of him set up to fool possible intruders or attackers.

_Why would my computer system think there was an intruder in my room? Unless…it thinks that the intruder…is me?_

"Computer, conduct a perimeter search of the area."

"Perimeter secure," the computer sounded. With a sigh of relief (and annoyance), Kaoru looked back at the cardboard Kaoru. For some reason, he kept looking at the figure. Something about it irked him. The figure seemed like a stranger, with its wide eyes and natural smile. It seemed at peace, comfortable with itself-

Suddenly, Kaoru clenched the knife in his hand and angrily stabbed the figure in the face repeatedly. His breath quickened and his body shook as he brought the knife down again and again, until he realized that the face was pretty much gone.

"_Oh, Naru," Kaoru murmured, simultaneously rubbing her left breast and his hot erection even more quickly. Unconsciously, he shifted his body and aimed further away from Naru, parallel to her body next to the futon. As he continued to masturbate, while spreading his legs and moving his lower legs underneath his thighs, the moment came. Still stroking his manhood, Kaoru closed his eyes and let it come out._

"No, no!" Kaoru cried out angrily, dropping the knife and pressing his palms against his tightly-shut eyes. After dropping his hands, he looked down and realized he had another erection from thinking about Naru again. "God damn it!" he yelled, starting to kick up the soft mulch of his floor as tears started to build up in his eyes. Then, his blurry eyes saw the image of Izumi, still on his monitor screen. His upper lip trembled and the tears started to fall before he looked away.

_Naru, and now Izumi_. Kaoru fell to the floor and sobbed, unable to control himself. The cries reached every part of his room, but didn't go outside into the hallway. He buried his face into his hands while his body shook with the force of his tears.

-At the prep school…-

"Naru?"

Looking up, she saw a blonde woman with a ponytail and a nice worksuit. "Vice Principal?" Naru asked. All the students and the teacher had their eyes on the two of them.

-The Principal's Office…-

"Congratulations, Naru," Principal Yamamoto greeted her warmly, bowing his head respectfully for her accomplishment. "You were number one on last week's practice prep exams…as usual."

"Thanks," Naru said, blushing as she sat there in front of him. "Is that why you called me to your office?"

"Well…" Yamamoto began, stroking his moustache casually, "not entirely." Naru furrowed her brow. He glanced at a couple of papers on his desk and picked them up, looking through them again. "A funny thing happened during those exams." Looking for the right paper, he gave it to her. Naru let out a sigh, recognizing the name on the answer sheet. "Apparently, someone took this exam…even though he wasn't registered with this school. And, even more interesting, you both live at the same address." Naru looked back up at the principal with some dismay. "Do you know this "Mitsune Konno?""

"Yes, I do," Naru replied. "I'm so sorry, Principal Yamamoto. I just moved to this new address recently, and I just met him. For some reason, he wanted to sit in with me in my classes on the day of the prep exams. Really, I have no idea why he'd want to take that exam anyway. He doesn't strike me as the educated type, to say the least…"

"Hmmm," the principal said, studying her intently. A moment later, he rose from his chair and looked outside his window, looking at the street across from the school. "Naru, do you know how many people are enrolled at this prep school?" he asked her, without any negative intent.

Naru shrugged. "I…I don't know, sir."

"About 3,000," he replied. He looked back at her. "3,086 people, to be exact." Naru nodded as he looked back outside. "And, last week, nearly all of those people took the practice prep exams. Apparently, ten people were sick that day." The principal looked down at his car in the parking lot, admiring its silver sheen. "Would you like to guess how well Mitsune did?"

Naru scoffed lightly. "Probably near the bottom."

"Out of 3,077 students who took last week's exam," Principal Yamamoto replied, "your friend Mitsune did better than 2,770 of them."

"Mitsune's not my friend," Naru explained. "He's…" She stopped, realizing what the principal just said. "Wait, what?"

"He scored in the 90th percentile," the principal further explained. Naru scrutinized his answer sheet. "A few more questions right in each section…and we might be talking about two of the best prep students in Japan living under the same roof," he added, chuckling at the end of his statement. "I called you in here, Naru, because this friend of yours interested me greatly." Yamamoto sat back down in his chair. "So much so, that I wanted to offer him free enrollment at Ja-ja-moh." Naru looked up at him in shock as he handed her a white folder packet. "Inside is the application and information about the prep school. I, along with Vice Principal Shimizu and the rest of the prep school board, would be glad to have him here at Ja-ja-moh, and hope that he accepts our offer." He drummed his fingers on his desk and clasped his hands together. "Well, that about does it. You can go back to your classes. I can take back Mitsune's answer sheet…" He softly grabbed the sheet from her fingers. "…while you take this packet to him," he continued, handing her the folder. "And…" Standing up, the principal extended his hand. "Once again, congratulations on your performance in last week's prep exams…as well as your friend's." Gaping at him, Naru weakly shook his hand and turned to the door. "Have a nice day," he finally added, sitting back in his seat and checking his email inbox on his computer.


	16. Apply with Caution!

Ch. 16: Apply with Caution!

"Naru?" Keitaro asked, as he walked down the street with her, as well as his friends Haitani and Shirai. They had just finished their studies at the prep school for the day.

"Hmmm?"

"I was just asking how well you did on last week's prep exam," Keitaro wondered.

"Oh," Naru realized. "I'm afraid I got the top spot again. Number one." Although he expected this, Keitaro still couldn't help but give her a look of shock.

"Wow," he remarked, shaking his head. "You really are something."

"How about you?" she asked. "How'd you do?" Instantly, Haitani and Shirai snorted as they tried to stifle their laughter. "What?" she asked them.

"Well," Haitani, the taller friend, began, "I guess you could say that the number "one" also figures prominently with respect to Keitaro's chances of making Tokyo U."

"So…?" Naru began, glancing from Haitani to Keitaro. "What did you get?" Keitaro began to say something, but Shirai interrupted.

"Our friend Keitaro has a 1% chance of getting into Tokyo U." After saying this, Shirai burst out laughing, along with Haitani. Naru gave the two of them a look before giving her attention to Keitaro.

"I'm sorry," she said kindly. Keitaro smiled back at her words as they continued to walk through the town, with cars motoring past. "Hey…it's just practice. You'll get better." In response, he scoffed to himself.

"Doesn't get much worse than only having a one-in-one-hundred shot at the university of your choice," Keitaro commented.

-At the Hinata Inn-

Mitsune snored on the couch in the lobby as Keitaro and Naru walked in and took off their shoes at the inn entrance. Keitaro scoffed at the sight of him and glanced at Naru. However, she ignored him and walked briskly towards the napping Mitsune.

"Mitsune," Naru said, standing over him with her hands on her hips.

"Keira?" Mitsune said in his sleep. "Come closer," he commanded, groping the air in front of him and patting Naru's shoulders. "I can't touch 'em…" Just then, Naru punched him in the gut. Mitsune gasped. Without knowing it, he tugged Naru down by her shoulders. Her punch also forced him to double over and rise off the cushion.

"Hey!" Naru exclaimed. Before she knew it, their lips met.

"Whoa!" Keitaro yelped, racing in between. "What are you guys doing?"

"Whoa," Mitsune murmured. Seeing Keitaro's face in front of him, he started to blush for some reason. "So…what does this mean?"

"I didn't mean to kiss him," Naru explained.

"Oh," Mitsune said softly with disappointment, now knowing that it wasn't Keitaro. Suddenly, he looked up in fear at Keitaro. "Wait, I kissed Naru?"

"I punched the dumb brute to wake him up, and he pulls me in for no reason," she muttered angrily.

"So that's why my tummy hurts," Mitsune murmured, holding his gut. A moment later, he gave his full attention to Keitaro. "Look, buddy, I didn't mean to kiss Naru. I was sound asleep. It was just a big foul-up."

"Really?" Keitaro asked, a look of hope flashing across his face. Naru gave him a confused look.

_What's up with him? Doesn't he still have his promised girl?_

"Yes," Mitsune replied. He squeezed Keitaro's shoulder for support. "Naru and I are just friends."

"Why does it matter?" Naru asked, completely confused. At once, Keitaro started to blush and looked away.

"Um, nothing. It's nothing. Whatever," Keitaro stammered. "So, um, I'm gonna go to my room. Get a little studying in. See you later!" Before she could say another word, he raced up the stairs and out of sight.

"You know," Mitsune began, looking off into the distance as he rested back onto the couch, "one time, we went camping in the mountains. In the middle of the night, I woke up and I saw Keitaro leaning right over me…our lips just centimeters apart." Mitsune tapped his lips thoughtfully. "He said that he tripped over me…but I think I know what was going on."

"…What are you talking about?" Naru asked, turning her confusion onto Mitsune. "Are you gay for Keitaro or something?"

"Pssh." Immediately, he looked away. "_No._ I was just…reminiscing over a nice camping trip that Keitaro and I had. That's all."

"Look," Naru said with exasperation. "Can I talk to you? Privately?"

-Mitsune's room-

"So, what did you want to talk about?" he said, opening his mini-fridge and cracking open a cold can of beer.

"Remember last week?" Naru asked. She swung her backpack in front of her chest and zipped it open, fishing out a white folder. "When you decided to come along with Keitaro and me to the prep school?"

"Yes," Mitsune replied after taking a big gulp from his beer. "I slapped Keitaro, and I slept with the teaching assistant who told us to pipe down during the exam. She cried and said it was the best sex she ever had in her life. I'm actually going to be having sex with her again. Tonight." Naru flung the folder at his chest, nearly causing him to spill his beer can. "Jeez! A little warning would be nice." Setting down the can, he looked it over. "This from the school?"

"Because you did _so well_ on the exams," Naru snapped, "the principal decided to overlook the fact that you're a complete stranger who didn't register for the exam…and offered you a free ride with the prep school." Noticing her anger, Mitsune set down the folder on his low table.

"Naru, what's wrong?" he asked softly. Staring daggers at him, Naru paused for a moment or two before responding.

"…What's wrong?" she echoed. "You lied to me."

"Lied?" he scoffed, resting back on his hands. "What are you talking about?"

"You lied about being smart!"

"Now hold on a second. I never lied about being smart-"

"Fine," Naru supposed. "Then you lied about the kind of person you were." Mitsune gave her a confused look. "All that bullshit about how "life's short" and "school doesn't matter-"

"I never said that "school doesn't matter,"" he protested.

"Well, does school matter to you? Do you want to pursue an education?"

"You know," he replied defiantly, "I don't need to go to school to live the life I want to live-"

"No, of course not. You definitely don't need money to buy booze, and you definitely don't need it to piss away your life savings on gambling. That's for damn sure." Mitsune gaped at her as she walked around his room to blow off some steam.

"…Naru," he began. "Why is this bothering you so much?" She opened her mouth, and then closed it. She continued to walk around his room a little bit more.

"…Instead of tagging along with me and Keitaro last week," she tried to explain, "and make-believing that you were a student at the prep school, you could've actually been a student there. You could actually be doing something meaningful, instead of chasing around women and-"

"I see," Mitsune added, a little hurt by her remark. "I now realize that I've led a meaningless life." He raised his beer can towards Naru. "Thanks for letting me know."

"That's…" Naru sighed. "That's not what I meant." She looked away as she placed her hands on her hips. "I just can't believe that you wouldn't take advantage of your ability. You could be doing so much more." Mitsune looked at her thoughtfully, and downed the entire beer can. He picked up the white folder again and felt it in his hands.

"So…there's an application in here?" he assumed, opening it and taking a look inside. Naru nodded, and then scoffed.

"You know, when the principal called me into his office, I thought he'd want to congratulate me for doing so well on my exams." Mitsune took out the application and leafed through it. "But he was a little happier to see some stranger come out and do well on the exam instead. Must've been happy to have another young student at the school."

"What about you?" Mitsune wondered, looking up at her. "Say I decided to enroll at the prep school. Hang out with you and Keitaro." He continued to look at her. "How would that sit with you?" In response, Naru smirked for a second before shrugging, which he noticed.

"I don't know," she replied. "I didn't like how you were dishonest with me-"

"I never lied-"

"Ok, fine. I didn't like how you were…_deceptive_." Mitsune nodded playfully with approval. "But…I suppose that this is an incredible opportunity, to be able to get the chance to go to university." She shrugged again. "I guess I wouldn't mind if you enrolled." Mitsune again nodded, this time in thought.

"How long do I have to think this over?"

"The principal didn't say," Naru replied. "I'll ask him tomorrow."

"Ok," Mitsune said with a smile. "Sorry if you thought I was being dishonest with you." Naru nodded and smiled back, turning to slide open the door. "Hey, could you imagine how Keitaro would feel about all this?" he added with a chuckle. "That might be trouble…"

"Speaking of Keitaro," she wondered, recalling the weird moment with him and Mitsune earlier, "Why was he so upset when he thought that we were trying to kiss?" Mitsune gave her a strange look.

"Because he likes you," he replied, as if this was common knowledge.

"So what?" Naru asked casually. "Doesn't he have his promised girl to go home to?"

"What?" Mitsune gave her a disgusted look. "Why would he do that?"

"She's his promised girl. Her girlfriend."

"What?" he exclaimed, giving her a shocked smile. "No, no, no. His promised girl is Kanako. She's Keitaro's sister."

"But…" Suddenly, a strange look passed over her eyes. "But, I thought Keitaro had a girlfriend."

"No. Of course he doesn't. Why do you think I tried to kiss you that day, when you were stuck in the ceiling?"

"I, I don't know," she blurted out. "I thought you were just being a ladies' man!" Mitsune scoffed and shook his head, laughing to himself.

"Is this why nothing's gone on between you two?" Mitsune asked. "Wow…I guess it makes sense now."

"Heh heh," she chuckled falsely. "Right."

_What the fuck is wrong with me…what am I, a fucking moron?_ Naru asked herself. _Shinobu…_

"Well, anyway," Naru began, "I'm gonna go. Good luck with the decision."

"See you at dinner. I'll be ordering pizzas, because Shinobu's arm is still hurt. They'll be on the house, though." Mitsune picked his cell phone up from off the low table. "I'll be ordering a large pizza for each resident. What toppings do you want?"

"Uh, pepperoni. I'll see you later," she said, before entering the hallway and sliding the door shut. Pausing in the hallway for a few moments, Naru decided to go to Shinobu's room.

-Shinobu's room-

"Shinobu?" The residential cook perked up, lifting his head above his pillow. He was lying down on his futon, watching TV while putting an icepack on his shoulder.

"Come in," Shinobu said. Naru slid open the door. "Hey, pumpkin." She scoffed and smiled as she slid the door closed.

"_Sweetie?"_ Naru told herself. Still, she couldn't help but feel flattered. _That's the first time someone's used a pet name for me._

"Hey," she returned, kneeling beside him. "How you feeling?"

"Well, my entire shoulder is really sore. Otherwise, I would've baked a nice cake to say that I'm sorry."

"Really?" Naru asked, touched by the possible gesture. "That's so sweet." She could feel her heart soaring high in her chest, despite the whirlwind of thoughts in her head. She'd never really felt like that before in her life. Except…

_My promised boy,_ she thought to herself. Naru laid herself down behind Shinobu as he watched TV. _Why do I care so much about him? Hell, why do I care so much about Keitaro? _She saw that he was watching some cooking show. _In a way, my promised boy and Keitaro are the same person: a possible love interest, but nothing real. …That is, it didn't happen yet between me and Keitaro._

"What toppings did you order for your pizza?" Naru asked him.

"Pepperoni."

"Me, too."

_Do I just like Keitaro because we're similar…having made promises to someone dear to us? Because he said he liked me?_ The cook on TV talked into the camera as he mixed some eggs into his bowl. _Maybe I feel guilty because Mitsune said that Keitaro's never had a girlfriend before._

_Well, why should that matter?_ the little voice at the back of her head chimed in. _You've never had a boyfriend before._

_I've never even had a friend before coming to Hinata,_ Naru added sadly. _I don't think I ever would've built up the courage to ask Keitaro out, much less Shinobu._ She gave an apologetic look at the back of Shinobu's head. _…Sorry, Shinobu. _Naru took off her backpack to get more comfortable. _The only person I would've had courage to ask out is my promised boy…and, even then, I'd be a stuttering and blubbering mess._

_And then you came along_, Naru thought, looking at Shinobu thoughtfully. _You wanted to go out on a date with me. You wanted to kiss me…even though I never thought that anyone would go out with a nerd like me. _She could feel her heart sink, as it's always done in the past…whenever she pitied herself. _Shinobu…you made me feel like the luckiest girl in the world…all because you went out on a date with me, and kissed me_. Her heart rose back up in her chest. Naru scoffed silently to herself as she got a little teary-eyed. _I came here to break up with Shinobu…and now…_

"Hey," Naru said softly, reaching for the remote control and turning off the TV.

"Uh, I was watching that," Shinobu remarked. Turning around on the futon, he noticed a flushed look on her face. She leaned close to him and kissed him deeply before retreating.

"Thanks," she said.

"For what?"

"For being with me," she replied, treating Shinobu to another smack on the lips. He blushed and looked down slyly at his injured shoulder.

"Can you kiss my arm?" Shinobu asked, showing it to her. Naru smirked as she put down the icepack from his bruise. Hesitantly, she puckered her lips and kissed him there. Looking down at the kiss, he frowned slightly, noticing a small spot of wetness where Naru's kiss was. "Did…you use _tongue?_" he asked incredulously.

"Oh, was I not supposed to do that?" she asked sheepishly, putting a hand to her lips.

"Well, you could've just kissed it with your lips," he explained. Shinobu rubbed away at the spot. "It's kind of like you licked me just now."

"What?" Naru yelped, slapping him playfully on the arm. "No, it's not! Besides, give me a break..." In a whisper, she added, "I'm not used to kissing people," before giving Shinobu another kiss.

-Meanwhile…at an apartment complex a few streets over…-

Izumi held Makoto's hand as they went up to the second floor. She finally stopped in the middle of the outside hallway, in front of a faded red door with the golden numbers "306" nailed above the peephole.

"So, here we are," she declared, letting go of Makoto's hand to search for her apartment keys in her purse. After a few moments, she took them out and inserted the door key into the keyhole. However, Izumi stopped to look at Makoto. "Before we go in, I want to ask you again." She looked into his eyes. "Are you sure you want to?" Taking a deep breath, Makoto nodded.

"Yeah, I want to," he replied, causing a smile to light up on her face.

"Ok," she said sweetly. Izumi turned the key and pushed open the door, taking Makoto's hand again to lead him through the doorway. He walked past Izumi as she quickly turned around to close and lock the door. "Turn around," she said quickly, before he could even get a good look at his surroundings.

"Why?" he asked softly. Makoto noticed that she was no longer standing in front of him. Instead, she had dropped her keys and purse to the floor…and yanked down hard on his kendo pants, causing him to stumble back in shock and fall down on his butt. He was now only wearing traditional Japanese underwear below his waistline. "Wait!" Makoto exclaimed, blushing madly as he tried to scuttle backwards away from Izumi. She let out a deep sigh and leaned back on her hands.

"It's really not nice to tease a girl like me," she grumbled, fidgeting with her fingers and eyeing his cloth-covered erection.

"It's just that…it feels a little too fast," he explained.

"So, you still want to fuck?" Izumi made sure, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Ummm," Makoto began. He looked away shyly. "Yeah, I do-" Suddenly, right after he said those words, Izumi's hands launched forwards and grabbed his underwear on each side, shocking him completely. She yanked down, causing his cock to spring into action. Completely red in the face, Makoto looked away from his erection in embarrassment while Izumi's heavy breathing filled the silence between them. Her face moved closer, bit-by-bit, to his cock. Finally, she placed her nose alongside the hot shaft without touching it…and took a deep sniff of his scent. Her eyelids fluttered as she slowly closed her eyes and her mouth also opened slowly, letting out a long sigh. She was delighted at how hard her nipples were now, and how wet her pussy was after smelling Makoto's cock. "…Izumi?" Hearing her name, she tightly shut her eyes and shook her head slightly to get a hold of herself once more.

"Yeah?" she murmured, looking up at the man's face in a dazed fashion.

"Are you okay?" Makoto wondered. Just then, some drool slipped out of the corner of Izumi's mouth, freaking him out. She noticed immediately and slurped it back while wiping her mouth with her sleeve.

"Yeah, yeah," she rasped, with her eyes glazed. "Makoto?"

"Yes, Izumi?"

"Before we begin, I just want you to know that you have complete freedom here," she said. "For example, when I shove my mouth down your mouthwatering cock (which I will do right after my little speech here), you can control my head however you want."

"Iz-Izumi!" he exclaimed in embarrassment.

"At the same time," she continued, "I will exercise the same freedom as well." Izumi positioned herself above Makoto's pulsating cock, aligning her lips right over its head. She could already see some clear precum leaking out. "Fuck yeah," she snarled, unhinging her jaw and about to drop down on the shaft. Suddenly, she could feel her hair getting yanked from above, stopping her from getting any closer to his cock. Growling, Izumi swung her fist down hard onto the hardwood floor, breaking a polished plank into two and sending splinters into the air. "What is it this time?" she snapped, glaring up at his frightened face.

"Sorry," he apologized, holding her strawberry-blonde hair in his hands. "…it's just that I want you to do something for me." Izumi couldn't help but let out a little frown. Still, she obeyed and lifted her head to meet his eyeline. He let go of her hair.

"Ok," she blurted out softly, "what is it?"

"I want us to take off our clothes," he replied. She looked down and suddenly realized that they still had most of their clothes on.

"Oh, wow," Izumi exclaimed in realization, "right! Good call." She was about to slip out of her kendo top when Makoto stopped her again.

"Let's start from the bottom," he said. "First, our socks." She quickly did as he said, and he took them off as well. "Next, your pants." Izumi took them off, revealing that she was wearing no underwear or panties. Surprised, he gaped at her pussy, which was completely bare and shaved off of pubic hair. "Why aren't you wearing any underwear?"

"It makes for faster fucking," she replied. She leaned back slightly in the missionary position, parting her legs and bending her knees while spreading the glistening pink lips of her pussy apart so that Makoto could see. "Like what you see?" Makoto was completely red in the face as he gazed at her.

"It's the first one I've ever gotten to see," he whispered, entranced by the sight of her wet pussy.

"I figured as much," she remarked, beaming at him.

"And, now," he continued, "your shirt." Izumi smirked and began to slide her kendo top off her shoulders.

"Wait!" She stopped, wondering what he wanted. "First…I want to see your tattoo." His erection had subsided slightly while they were undressing, but it was completely hard again, now that they had reached this point.

"You mean, on my boob?" she asked, looking down. Izumi gave him a sly look. "I thought you didn't like my tattoos."

"I don't," he replied. "Yet, at the same time…" Makoto glanced at the blue butterfly tattoo on her right ankle, and unconsciously stroked the shaft of his penis. Izumi stared at him silently. She was pleased that she could see a perverted side to him.

"Hey," she called out softly, getting his attention. Looking at her, Makoto noticed her right hand holding the fold of her kendo uniform, which covered her right breast. "Are you ready?" Staring at her hand, he nodded. Izumi smiled warmly at him and looked down, sliding the fabric away from the curve of her breast. The tattoo was another blue butterfly. Makoto's breathing turned heavy as he stared intently at the tattoo. After a few moments, he looked down at Izumi's right ankle and held it in his hands. Pressing the head of his cock against the blue butterfly tattoo on her ankle, Makoto left a circle of precum on the inked skin and proceeded to rub the underside of his shaft against it. Next, he crawled close to Izumi's incredibly beautiful and athletic body. To her surprise, he placed his knees on either side of her chest and landed his cock in between her breasts. He used his hands to squeeze her tattooed right breast and bare left breast into a sandwich for his shaft. He began to fuck her tits. Meanwhile, Izumi gaped at the sight of his cock shooting back and forth in front of her blushing face. Then, without warning, Makoto winced and spurt out his silky semen straight into Izumi's face. She couldn't close her eyes in time, as some cum got into her right eye. A stream of it laced across the eyelashes of her right eye and her nose. Four more streams of semen pulsed across her cheeks, forehead, hair, chin, and mouth. A small pool collected in her mouth, which she swallowed whole. "Jeez," she complained, rubbing at her right eye. "A little warning would've been nice." Izumi couldn't see too well out of her right eye, and it stung a little bit, causing the eye to water a little bit. She rolled to her left and forced Makoto to get up off her. Walking through the living room of her apartment, her face covered in cum, Izumi struggled to make it to her bathroom nearby. She turned on the bathroom light and walked to the sink. Turning it on, she used her hand to splash water into her right eye. After a few more splashes, her right eye felt better and she could see out of it. Suddenly, she could see Makoto walking up behind her. "So, how'd that feel?" she asked, about to turn around. However, before she could, he wrapped her arms around her waist and lifted her up. Then, he put his forearms under her knees, forcing Izumi to see herself spread in front of her bathroom mirror completely naked and with some leftover semen on her face. "W-wait a second," Izumi tried to reason. A moment later, she gasped as she felt herself falling. It only lasted a split-second, however.

Izumi widened her eyes and gaped at the mirror in front of her. Makoto had dropped her right onto his cock, letting it pierce her womb. "M…Makoto," she mumbled, arching her back as the full pleasure of the penetration suddenly hit her senses. Izumi continued to let out groans of pleasure as Makoto lifted her up and down his cock while standing on her bathroom floor…the sound of their skins slapping against each other as they fucked.

-At Haruka's tea shop…-

Tsuruko hummed happily to herself as she walked briskly to Haruka's tea shop. Haruka had just texted her:

_Want 2 F with u so bad. Cum._

Walking through the open tea shop entrance, Tsuruko noticed that it was pretty dark inside. It was nighttime, but there were no lights on in the tea shop. Fortunately for her, Tsuruko had impeccable night vision, akin to a tiger…so the darkness wasn't too much of a problem for her. She easily spotted Haruka's bare back and bottom, as the tea shop owner stood with her back to the tea shop entrance. From a distance, it looked like Haruka was wiping the countertop in front of her. It also looked like she was wearing only her apron. Tsuruko couldn't help but smile and lick her lips as she walked seductively towards her.

"Got your text," Tsuruko chirped, putting a hand on Haruka's bare right shoulder. She turned Haruka around. "So, how bad do you want it?..." Letting out a small gasp, Tsuruko narrowed her eyes. The person in front of her looked like Haruka…but it wasn't a person at all. It appeared to be a robot of some sort. Its painted eyes continued to look blankly ahead while its right arm continued to make a countertop-cleaning motion. Just then, Tsuruko saw something move out of the corner of her right eye. In a split-second, the warrior spun around in impossible fashion and flung a dagger straight at the stranger from her sleeve. The silhouetted stranger barely had time to move to the side, seeing the dagger strike deep inside a wooden post behind her. Tsuruko quickly grasped her trusty katana at her side, when she felt a sharp prick hit her in the neck like a needle. Confused, she turned around to see that the Haruka robot was holding a tranquilizer gun in its hand, which was hidden by the washcloth it had previously held. Tsuruko reached behind her neck and felt the feathery end of the dart. She quickly pulled it out before unsheathing her katana and slicing the robot in half vertically. She turned around again while the two halves of the robot fell away from each other in synchronized fashion to glare menacingly at the enemy. Tsuruko was no novice to tranquilizers…her body was so well-conditioned that she could take on two tranquilizers and still ward off a team of ten assassins. Still, she began to notice that something was wrong. As she looked at the mysterious person in front of her, her vision started to blur and warp uncontrollably. Tsuruko took a shaky step or two towards the figure before the katana clattered onto the floor, out of her weakened grasp. A cold sweat instantly formed all over her body. After another step, she fell forward and collapsed under her own weight.

_Stupid, stupid_, Tsuruko thought angrily to herself, as the dark figure walked towards her. _How could I be so stupid?_ It took all of her strength to look up at the person, still covered in darkness. _Who could it be? The Black Fire Clan?_ The figure's feet stopped right in front of Tsuruko's face before kneeling down in front of her. _The Dark Shadow Clan?_ Tsuruko's eyes widened as she continued to think. _The…the Hinata Guardians?_

"Phew," the figure at last said, taking something out of her pocket. Holding them to her own face, the figure flipped open her lighter and turned it on, spraying an instant fire and light that captured both of their faces.

"…Haruka?" Tsuruko realized, seeing the tea shop owner light her cigarette and put the lighter back into her pocket.

"I thought the tranquilizer wouldn't be strong enough," Haruka remarked. She blew some smoke up in the air, above Tsuruko's head.

"W…Why?" Tsuruko asked quietly. Her eyes were nearly closed, with her eyelids feeling extremely heavy.

"I just wanted to fool around with you so bad," Haruka replied, stroking Tsuruko's sleek and dark hair. "That's why I wanted you to come." Hearing this, Tsuruko let out a broad smile.

"Just let me be awake when the fun starts…" Tsuruko mumbled before dropping into a deep sleep.

-Mitsune's room-

"Oh, Mitsune…" the young woman sighed deeply, looking happily up at the ceiling with her wavy brown hair sprawled over the pillow. Naked, the teaching assistant from Naru's prep school and Mitsune laid on his futon under the blanket covers after another taste of intercourse. Mitsune started to frown, noticing that her lip was quivering.

"Oh, no," he grumbled, "you're not going to cry again, are you?" The teaching assistant's lips quivered even more as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Why?" she asked, turning her head to look him in the eye. Tears now trickled down the corners of her eyes, and down across her nose. "Is it because it annoys and amuses you, and you like to tell people that I cry after having fantastic sex with you?" Mitsune sighed and turned his head away from her. "…Or," she continued, reaching for his cheek, "is it because that you cry whenever I cry about having fantastic sex with you?" A moment later, Mitsune snorted and shook his shoulders uncontrollably. More tears streamed down the teaching assistant's face as a smile broke across her face while she furrowed her brow. "It's both, isn't it?" She placed her hand on Mitsune's cheek and turned his face towards her own, revealing that he was crying as well.

"You, you know me so well!" Mitsune sobbed wildly, causing both of them to caress each other tenderly. They put their foreheads together and continued to cry.

-A few minutes later…-

…Then, she and Mitsune stopped crying and put their tongues together, kissing each other passionately. However, Mitsune suddenly thought of something.

"Oh, wait, wait!" he exclaimed into her mouth. The woman stopped, and then smirked when Mitsune placed his finger on her lips for emphasis. "I wanted to tell you something."

"What?" she wondered. Mitsune turned around, reached for something on his low table, and showed it to her. She gave a quizzical look at the white folder in his hands. "What's that?"

"Remember the first time we met?" he asked, opening the folder and taking out its contents.

"You mean," the teaching assistant replied, "when you took that prep exam at the school?" She brushed away a lock of her own hair before smiling broadly at Mitsune. "Even though you weren't a student there?" Mitsune nodded, and then handed her his application.

"It turns out that I did pretty well on it," he explained himself. "Because of that, the principal offered me a full ride at the prep school."

"And, you decided to accept?" she asked. Leafing over the first two pages, the teaching assistant could see that Mitsune had already filled them both out. Mitsune nodded again.

"Yeah," he added with a warm smile. Mitsune observed the look of disbelief on her face, but he could sense something else beneath her expression.

"Uh, wow! Congratulations!" she said belatedly, lowering the application and giving him a peck on the lips. After the teaching assistant retreated from her kiss, she noticed Mitsune peering closely at her eyes. "What's wrong?" In response, he groaned in a lighthearted fashion.

"Come on, where are the waterworks?" She gave him a confused smirk. "I was expecting some tears here."

"What, are you saying I'm not happy for you?" she shot back teasingly. "I am." She looked back down at his application, and then back at him. "…I just think it might be weird if you're at the same place where I work."

"Pssh," Mitsune scoffed, waving his hand, "get out of the classroom. It'll be great."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he replied confidently. "Could you imagine the places we could fuck, inside a school?" For the first time that evening, the teaching assistant gave him a strange look. "We could fuck in the principal's office…in the cafeteria…ooh! We could do a little role-play in one of the classrooms-"

"H-Hey!" she exclaimed, blushing and waving her hands frantically in front of his face. "I'm not that kind of girl! And that's exactly the kind of "weird stuff" that I was mentioning just now." Dropping the application, the teaching assistant hugged herself at the thought of Mitsune's fantasy. "I don't think I'm comfortable with that kind of stuff." Mitsune gasped. Giving her a stern look, he was unable to conceal his quivering lip. "You're…you're not going to cry, are you?" she asked in disbelief. "Just because I don't feel like doing weird sex stuff at the school where I work at?"

"I most certainly will not," he stubbornly snapped, able to hold his tears. She sighed, and looked around his room to pass a few moments in peace. Her eyes resting on the sight of the two pizza boxes they shared, which sat next to her, she opened the top one and treated herself to another slice of the meat special. She took a large first bite and, as she pulled away from the slice, a pepperoni fell and landed on her left breast, a little above her nipple. Looking down when she felt the sensation, the teaching assistant was about to take it and slip it in her mouth when she glanced at Mitsune. He was still pouting while looking through his application. She put down her pizza slice and licked a finger, having just thought of something.

"Hey, Mitsune," she whispered. He sighed.

"Yeah?" Turning around, Mitsune widened his eyes, giving her a strange look. The teaching assistant was lying on her back as she looked at him, with a slice of pepperoni resting on each of her nipples. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself at the sight.

"You know I'm always open to doing weird sex stuff at your place, right?" she asked playfully. He scoffed lightly.

"Wakana, that's a given if you're gonna be staying with the Fox," Mitsune replied. Leaning in, he opened his mouth and sensually licked the pepperoni off of her left nipple, chewing and digesting the thin red slice before sucking the leftover pizza oil off her succulent nipple. Wakana rested her hands on Mitsune's head and moaned slightly in approval while she blushed, the slice of pepperoni on her right nipple falling down to the floor next to her as she squirmed with pleasure in the futon.


End file.
